


Hands Of Destiny

by cazmalfoy



Series: Assassin Ianto [4]
Category: Torchwood
Genre: Assassin Ianto, Bad ass Ianto, Character Death, Fifty-First Century Ianto, Implied Mpreg, M/M, Mpreg, Time Agent Ianto, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-09
Updated: 2013-10-09
Packaged: 2017-12-28 22:32:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 51
Words: 31,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/997688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cazmalfoy/pseuds/cazmalfoy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>While trying for another baby, Jack and Ianto discover somethings just aren't meant to be.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The rain was coming down thicker and faster than ever. It had been raining all week, but had never gotten this bad. Now, when they could have used decent weather the most, it was almost torrential. 

His trainers squelched as they pounded against the pavement. One of his shoelaces had come unfastened and was flopping about dangerously as he ran, slapping against his jeans with each movement. 

The sky, already dark with storm clouds, was darkening by the second and he knew their visibility would be seriously limited soon. 

“Anything?” he gasped. He skidded around the corner, almost colliding with a set of dustbins that stood at the back of a takeaway. 

There was silence before a voice replied, “You’re heading in the right direction. You should be there in a few minutes.” 

He didn’t sever the link between them. It was too dangerous; he was out on his own, chasing an alien none of them knew for sure how to kill. Severing ties with his other team members would be foolish and, more than likely, fatal. 

“Any suggestions about what I do when I get there?” he asked, pulling out his gun as he approached the building, his pace never slowing. 

The voice answered almost immediately this time, “Subdue it until we get there. We’re about ten minutes away.” 

“Can’t I just wait for you?” he panted, coming to a stop and gasping for breath. 

A new voice sounded in his ear, accompanied by an amused chuckle. “Everything okay, old man?” 

He scowled and glared at nothing in particular, wishing he could actually glare at the other person. “Who are you calling old? You’re not that much younger than me.” 

“But I’m still younger.” 

“Can we focus, please?” the first voice interrupted them, sounding more than a little pissed off. 

“Sorry,” he muttered, not sounding nor meaning the word. “I’m going in.” 

The second voice began to speak before hesitating. A “Be careful,” was eventually murmured in his ear. 

He smirked to himself and placed his hand on the door handle. “You know me.” 

“That’s a not a comforting thought, right now.” 

The door was unlocked and opened rather easily. He wasn’t sure if that was a good thing, or not. On one hand it made his job easier, but on the other it meant he was expected. Or, at least, something was expected. 

He looked around the room, taking in the lack of decoration. It was almost as if no one had lived there since it had been built. “Are you sure this is the right loc…” 

He didn’t get chance to finish his sentence before something hard hit his back. He groaned and fell to the floor, his gun flying from his hand. 

Cursing, he rolled over, away from his attacker, and got to his feet. His opponent didn’t look anything like most of the aliens he had encountered. With most it was obvious they weren’t human, but this one could easily have blended in with the population of the city: if it wasn’t for the black eyes. 

They circled each other, neither one taking their eyes off their prey. He could hear voices in his ear, demanding to know what was wrong: shortly followed by the first telling someone to drive faster. He couldn’t reply; his attention was completely focused on the alien. 

The creature leapt at him, using momentum and the element of surprise to throw them both to the ground. It lashed out at him, trying to sink its fanged teeth into his throat. 

With effort, he managed to get his leg between their bodies, placing his foot on the creature’s torso. He grunted and tightened the muscles of his thigh, straightening his leg and pushing the alien to the floor. 

“Bastard,” he snarled, pressing two fingers to his lower lip and wincing. He had sunk his front teeth into the skin with the effort, breaking the skin and making it bleed. 

The creature darted for him, trying to get to his neck once more. This time he was ready, he landed a punch in its jaw, sending it reeling backwards once more. 

A loud bang signalled the door opening and he hoped with all his might that it was the rest of the team. Of course, life wasn’t that kind and the newcomers turned out to be more of the creature’s species. 

He was surrounded; there was no way he was going to get out of the building alive. He was barely a match for one of these things; he knew he wouldn’t fare well against a dozen. 

The gun was lying at his feet and he quickly stooped down, picking it up. The original creature spotted his movement and lunged for him once more. 

Immediately he pulled the trigger, sending a bullet into the alien’s abdomen. 

“Okay,” he muttered, noticing the others advance even quicker now he had wounded one of their own. “Probably not the best idea.” 

He raised his arm, training his gun on one of the aliens, before moving it to another. “Guys, some help would be useful right now,” he called, trying not to sound hysterical, even though he was definitely panicking. 

“We’re almost there. Five more minutes,” the first voice assured him. “Just stall them.” 

“I won’t be here in ‘five more minutes’!” he practically screamed. 

There was silence on the other end of the line before the second voice asked urgently, “Are you wearing the necklace I gave you last year?” 

“What has that got to do with anything?” he snapped. 

“Answer me.” 

The creatures were getting closer now, apparently in no rush. They seemed to want to savour this kill and his fear for as long as possible. 

“Yes, I’m wearing it. You know I don’t take the damn thing off.” 

There was an audible sigh of relief on the other end of the line. “Turn the lower part of the pendant a hundred and eighty degrees clockwise. It’ll activate it.” 

“What?” the first voice cried. “You can’t do that. We don’t know where it’ll send him.” 

“It’s better than him staying where he is and getting killed. Do it.” 

He considered his options; on one hand he could stay where he was and wait for the cavalry to arrive – probably too late. But on the other, he could use the necklace and end up in a place – and time – far away from where he was. 

“I don’t have a choice,” he whispered. “You’ve gotta find me, though. I don’t care how you do it; just find me. I’m not staying in a time I don’t belong.” 

With one last look at the aliens he pulled the necklace out from underneath his shirt, giving the bottom of it one twist as instructed. 

“I’m sorry.” 

Almost immediately a portal behind him opened, and he felt himself being pulled backwards. The original creature, seeing what was happening leapt towards him, despite the wound. Together they fell backwards, both of them falling back through the crack in time and space. 

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Jack and Ianto smiled as they watched their son running around the office on his short legs. It had been eighteen months since Dominic had been born, and there wasn’t a day that went by where Jack wasn’t thankful for having a family for the first time since his had been torn apart.

Dominic’s tongue poked out as he ran over the couch and concentrated on pulling himself up to sit with his parents. Both Jack and Ianto had long since discovered that their son was a very independent child who liked to do things for himself. Now they were content to let him figure out a way to get onto the sofa on his own.

Eventually, Dominic pushed his way in between the couple, leaning against the back of the couch with his legs sticking out in front of him, much like his parents.

Jack laughed and ruffled his dark hair – the same colour as Ianto’s. “You pretending to be all grown up?” he asked.

Dominic nodded his head seriously, folding his arms across his chest in an almost perfection imitation of Jack. Ianto spotted this action and laughed aloud, rolling his eyes when Jack glared at him.

“I can’t believe how much like you he is,” he commented.

Jack grinned and ran a hand through his partner’s hair. “Hopefully this one’ll be just like you,” he replied, glancing down at his own flat stomach.

Ianto frowned, his happy demeanour dissipating a little. “Will…”

“I know. I know,” Jack sighed, rolling his own eyes. “I shouldn’t assume anything until we know for sure.”

The younger man pressed the palm of his hand against Jack’s cheek. “I just don’t want you to get upset if you’re not. We’ve been trying for over a year…”

“And I think things are different this time,” Jack insisted, meeting Ianto’s blue eyes with his own. “I know I said that last time, but I really do…”

He trailed off when there was a light knock and the door to his office opened. Slowly the door moved, revealing Martha holding a sheet of paper. Dominic grinned and waved wildly at his aunt, who smiled and blew him a kiss.

“You’re not going to tell me I’m pregnant, are you?” Jack asked sadly, immediately recognising the look on her face. It was the same look she had worn every other time she had been forced to break the news to the couple.

She smiled sadly and shook her head, tears forming behind her eyes as she handed the paper to the couple. Ianto took it off of her, double checking the results. They were all the same; Jack wasn’t pregnant.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered before turning on her heel and leaving the room, allowing Ianto to comfort his partner in peace.

The assassin picked Dominic up – much to the small boy’s chagrin – and deposited him on Jack’s other side.

“Come here,” he whispered, reaching out and pulling Jack into his arms. “It’s okay,” he murmured, pressing his lips against Jack’s temple and smoothing down his hair. “You have to stop putting yourself through his.”

Jack shook his head, leaning against Ianto. “I want to carry your baby, Ianto,” he whimpered.

Ianto tightened his hold on Jack. “I know you do,” he replied. “But sometimes what we want just isn’t possible.”

The older Time Agent bit out a bitter laugh and rolled his eyes. “I can survive everything people throw at me, but why does not being able to get pregnant feel like I’m being torn apart?” he whispered.

Ianto didn’t reply, not knowing what to say to his lover. They had been trying to conceive for the better part of a year and, while the trying part was fun, finding out that Jack just didn’t seem to be able to get pregnant again was destroying the other man piece by piece.

Jack lifted his head from where it had been resting on Ianto’s shoulder when he felt a tiny hand on his stomach. He looked down at Dominic who was looking up at them, confusion and sadness shining in his blue eyes.

“No baby?” Dominic murmured sadly, reading his parent’s expressions and actions perfectly.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Mickey balanced the pencil between his teeth in the same way that Tosh used to, Gwen noted with a small smile. It had almost two years since Tosh and Owen had been taken from them; although they had never discovered the remains of the doctor: the nuclear radiation had destroyed him completely. 

There were times when she got sad, thinking about their fallen colleagues and friends. But enough time had passed that they could think about Tosh and Owen without breaking into floods of tears.

She snapped out of her thoughts when Mickey spoke, his words muffled by the pencil balancing in his mouth.

“What was that in English?” she questioned, returning to her work.

He sighed and withdrew the pencil from his mouth. “I think something’s going on with the Rift.” 

Frowning deeply, Gwen got to her feet and crossed the work area, looking over his shoulder at the screen. “What kind of something?” He raised an eyebrow and she added, “A big something that’s going to take all of us, or a small something that we can ignore?”

“We can ignore things to do with the Rift?” he asked in amazement.

“No, we can’t,” Jack’s voice spoke firmly as he exited his office.

She immediately recognised the tone of his voice; it was his superior, ‘I’m hiding something’ voice. The same kind of act he had been putting on a lot recently. Gwen knew they were trying for another baby and had no success so far; the strain it was having on the Captain was obvious to anyone who looked.

Jack came to a stop behind Mickey and next to Gwen. “That’s…” His gaze drifted above them, “It’s directly above us.”

Ianto stepped out into main Hub from the archives, fastening the cuffs on his shirt, having just rolled the sleeves back down. “What’s going on?” he asked, seeing his team members looking up at the top of the Hub.

"There’s Rift activity on the Plass,” Jack replied, moving to grab his coat from the nearby hook.

Before he’d even managed to get to the coat hook, the paving slab above them shifted and the invisible lift began its descent to the bottom.

Ianto’s hand moved to his hip, palm on the handle of his weapon, ready to use it as they watched the lift in surprise.

A tall, dark haired man jumped down from the lift the instant it reached the bottom. “What the Hell happened?” he demanded, placing his hands on his hips and turning to face the team.

In the blink of an eye six guns were trained on him and he sighed, “Oh, you have got to be kidding me!”

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

“Who the fuck are you and how the fuck did you get in here?” Jack demanded, his Webley still trained on the intruder.

The younger man raised an eyebrow and lifted what looked like a laser pointer. “I have a key,” he informed them. When he moved to step away from the lift, the guns followed him and he froze. “Can you stop pointing the guns at me, please?”

“Give us one good reason,” Ianto snapped, his weapon never moving.

“I’m not here to kill, kidnap or maim any of you. I work for Torchwood,” he sighed, holding his hands up to show he wasn’t going to hurt them.

“You can’t work for Torchwood,” Jack argued. “We’re Torchwood and none of us know who you are.” His gaze flickered over at the team and they all shook their heads, confirming that they were just as confused as he was.

The young man sighed and looked around him in frustration. “I swear; I do, and I know who all of you are.” They still didn’t look convinced and he sighed heavily, “What can I do to make you believe me?”

The Captain hesitated, weighing up his options, before lowering his weapon. “Mickey, Martha, Gwen, keep an eye on him,” Jack instructed, holstering his gun. “If he even looks like he’s going to give you trouble, shoot him. Ianto, with me.”

He stormed across the Hub, heading towards the door that lead down to the main archives. “Care to let me know what you’re planning?” Ianto asked, falling into step beside his partner.

“Do you remember the other year when we found that lie detector?” Jack asked, turning a corner and heading down some stairs that would lead into the lower levels of the archives.

Ianto nodded his head, realising what Jack was implying. “And we know it worked ‘cause Owen told Gwen her hair looked gorgeous and it wouldn’t stop flashing red for a week.”

~

A short while later they returned with the bulky lie detector and deposited it on Jack’s desk. 

“Give me that wire,” Jack instructed, pointing at the cable lying on the desk.

Ianto shook his head, “That doesn’t go in there,” he insisted. “If you do that, you’ll short circuit the whole thing and we’ll be back to square one.” He held up a different wire, thrusting it into the other Time Agent’s hand, “Try this.”

Jack scowled and muttered darkly, “It won’t work.”

When the wire slid effortlessly into the socket Ianto raised an eyebrow. “What was that?” he asked, faux cheerfully.

“Fuck off.”

The remainder of the team entered the office with the stranger. “Sit down,” Jack barked, pointing at the chair.

Gwen glared at the Captain, clearly showing how much she thought of his manners. She turned to the young man and smiled soothingly, “It’s okay, sweetheart,” she assured him, leading him over to the chair.

Jack made to strap the stranger to the chair, but Gwen stopped him in his tracks with another glare and he threw himself down into his chair. 

“What’s your name?” Jack demanded, leaning on his elbow and studying the stranger intently.

“Rory Morrow.” 

The previously green light on the lie detector immediately flashed red, indicating that he had already been caught in a lie.

“Don’t lie to me,” Jack snapped angrily. “Tell me your real name, or I’ll shoot you right now.”

Rory’s eyes flickered away from Jack, looking around at the other members of the team gathered in the office with him. He didn’t make eye contact with any of them. His gaze fell on Gwen, who smiled reassuringly.

He sighed and lowered his head, his brown hair falling forward. “Please don’t ask me to tell you my real name. It could change my history – the future.”

Jack seemed hell bent on arguing with the young man, until Gwen stepped forward. “He’s right, Jack,” she implored. “Leave him be. Ask him something else.”

Ianto watched the whole exchange with detached amusement as Jack sighed and slumped back in his seat in defeat. When Gwen looked at him with her eyes wide, the older Time Agent found it very difficult to resist.

“Fine,” he muttered under his breath, sitting upright once more and resuming his questioning. “Where are you from?”

“Cardiff,” Rory replied confidently. The light remained green.

“What year?”

“2041.” The light remained green.

“Do you work for Torchwood Cardiff?”

Rory nodded his head seriously. “Yes.”

Again, the light remained green and Jack sighed, slumping back in his chair. “He’s telling the truth,” he announced to the team, even though it was moot; all of them know green meant he was being truthful.

His gaze met Rory’s evenly, “But I want Martha to do some tests on you. If you do work for Torchwood in the future, you’ll know I don’t trust easily.”

Rory nodded his head slowly, getting to his feet as Martha stepped forward. She smiled tentatively at him, a smile he returned with a nervous one of his own.

“Do a full blood work up,” Jack instructed the doctor. “Check he’s human and not carrying anything potentially dangerous. Then we’ll look into sending you back where you came from.”

The young man rolled his eyes and allowed Martha to usher him from the office, not missing how Jack called, “Be careful around him,” to Martha as they left.

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Ianto moved around from where he was standing behind Jack. He had been stood there while the older man had questioned Rory. “What are we going to do?” he asked, perching on the corner of Jack’s desk.

Jack looked thoughtful before turning to Mickey, “Is the Rift predictor indicating any potential sparks in the near future?”

Mickey shrugged and slid out of the office, moving to his computer.

“Jack!” Gwen cried in horror. “You can’t seriously be considering sending him through the Rift.”

Jack shrugged his shoulders. “He came through it.”

Her eyes widened. “We don’t even know if that would work; as far as we know, the Rift only goes one way. And, even if we could, we have no way of knowing where he’ll end up!” she cried.

Ianto froze, turning to Jack with wide eyes, both of them thinking the same thing. This particular thread of conversation could remind her about Flat Holm Island, thus reversing the effects of the Retcon.

“We should concentrate on finding out what he was doing just before he fell through the Rift,” Ianto intervened, cutting through his partner and colleague’s argument. 

They all looked up when they heard tiny footsteps on the floorboards. Jack grinned when he saw Dominic running toward him, Tish behind him slightly. “Hey, kid,” the Captain grinned, scooping his son up and placing him on his knee. “You behaving for Auntie Tish?”

Dominic nodded his head and placed a sloppy kiss on his father’s lips. “Baby,” he giggled.

Instantly the air in the office changed. Gwen and Tish immediately knew their presence was not preferred and chose that moment to quietly exit the room, closing the door softly behind them.

Ianto shook his head, running the fingers of one hand through Dominic’s hair, and resting the other on Jack’s shoulder. “No baby,” he whispered.

Dominic scowled and nodded firmly. “Baby,” he repeated.

Jack sighed and hugged Dominic tighter. There was no way he could be pregnant; he hadn’t been with Ianto sexually since Martha had informed to them that the results were negative.

“I think we need to start watching what we say around this little guy,” Ianto stated, pressing his lips against the top of Jack’s head. “He’s picking up on everything.”

Jack nodded, looking down at Dominic who had now distracted himself with a shiny toy on his father’s desk. “Yeah,” he whispered, wishing he could con himself into believing Dominic knew something he didn’t.

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

“You’re human,” Jack stated, looking across at Rory.

The younger man rolled his eyes, “Thanks for the confirmation,” he commented sarcastically. “Now can we get past the distrust and concentrate on sending me back home? I can’t be here.”

Ianto sat down at his desk, turning his chair around so he could look at the others. “How did you even get here?” he asked, leaning back.

Rory took a deep breath before beginning, “I was hunting an alien in the centre of the city. The rest of the team were on their way, but more of them appeared out of nowhere. I was surrounded.”

“What kind of alien were you chasing?” Martha asked quietly.

“A Mahreiser,” he replied, matter-of-factly.

Mickey thumped away at his keyboard. “There’s no record in any of our databases. I’ve never heard of it.”

“You won’t have,” Jack inserted. “No one knows about them yet. If memory serves correctly, there were no reported sightings until the twenty-second century and they weren’t on this planet.”

He looked to Ianto for clarification, but the assassin merely shrugged his shoulders. History had never been his best subject.

“How did you get here?” Jack asked, getting back on track. “There’s no way you just happened to ‘fall’ through the Rift and appear right on Torchwood’s doorstep.”

He sighed and reached inside his shirt, pulling out the necklace. “This,” he informed them.

Martha made an intrigued noise and leant forward. “It’s gorgeous,” she whispered, inspecting it carefully.

It was beautiful in its simplicity. It looked as though it was a piece of barbed wire, but upon closer inspection, it was actually a twisted piece of silver in the shape of a thin cross. The bottom half of the metal was twisted around, displaying a series of very tiny emeralds embedded into the silver.

Rory smiled and placed it back under his shirt. “It’s a Rift manipulator.”

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

“What the hell are you doing with a Rift manipulator?” Jack demanded, leaning forward in his chair, suddenly paying more attention.

“A friend gave it to me in case I got into trouble,” he replied mysteriously. Jack knew they had to send him home soon, purely because that was getting annoying. It would be nice to have someone finally talk in non-vague sentences.

“One turn anti-clockwise would manipulate the Rift enough for me to slip through.”

“Can’t you just use it to get home?” Mickey suggested.

Martha looked horrified. “No!” she cried, immediately jumping to Rory’s defence.

Jack looked up in surprise, “What the Hell’s going on here?” he demanded.

The young woman blushed and sat back down, smoothing down the front of her outfit.

“She means that there’s no way for me to use it to get back,” Rory answered, glaring at her a little. “It’s programmed to open the Rift enough to take me to a time – and place – where I’d be the safest. Apparently, it thought early twenty first century Cardiff was the safest place for me.”

The team fell silent as they considered their options. None of them knew what to do. 

Jack wished the Doctor had fixed his Vortex manipulator so it could take more than one person again – like he had to get them off the Silo. They could have easily gotten rid of Rory that way. And there was no way he trusted him to use Ianto’s, while Jack used his own; he’d probably run off to a random point in time and space, leaving the younger Time Agent without a Vortex Manipulator.

“Okay,” Jack sighed, “you’ll have to stay here until we can figure out what to do with you.”

“Thanks,” Rory drawled, “that makes me feel completely wanted.”

Jack glared at him, “Right now, you’re not wanted at all,” he snapped.

“Jack!” Martha cried, glaring at the Captain and moving so she stood between the pair of them. 

“Where am I supposed to go?” Rory asked in a quiet voice from behind her, his gaze travelling down to the ground.

Martha turned and cupped his cheek with her hand. “You can come back with me. Our couch isn’t much, but it’s better than nothing.”

“What about Tom?” Ianto asked quietly.

“He’s working the night shift at the hospital. But, he won’t mind,” she insisted, giving Rory a reassuring smile. “You’re coming with me. I’m not leaving you.”

Knowing that he wasn’t going to succeed in arguing with her, Rory nodded his head, smiling at her thankfully. 

“Martha, I’m not sure that’s a good…”

“You do not get a say in this, Jack Harkness,” she snapped, glaring at the Captain. “He’s not staying here tonight and that’s final.”

A glaring contest between the pair of them for a long moment; only breaking when Jack was forced to look away because of his stinging eyes. “Fine,” he snapped. “I want you back here first thing in the morning.”

Martha nodded her head, agreeing before grabbing her bag and coat. “Come on,” she smiled, holding her hand out to the younger man. “Let’s go find Tom.”

As Rory and Martha were heading across the main Hub, Dominic came tearing out of his playroom where he had been with Tish. 

The small boy grinned when he saw Rory and ran across the Hub, clambering up the stairs and throwing his arms around Martha. “Hey you,” she greeted, running a hand through his dark hair and grinning down at him.

Dominic returned the grin with one of his own, before turning to Rory. “Hug,” he instructed holding his arms out to the newcomer. While the others didn’t trust him, Dominic seemed to accept Rory’s presence with no questions.

Rory shifted awkwardly and sidestepped Jack and Ianto’s son – avoiding contact with him. “Maybe later,” he replied. “We have to go,” he added to Martha. He practically ran over to the cog door where he waited for her to join him.

Martha frowned and kissed Dominic’s head apologetically. “See you tomorrow,” she told him, hugging him tightly before releasing him and standing upright.

As the cog door rolled closed behind her and Rory, Dominic ran to Gwen who immediately picked him up. She had been standing in the door to Jack’s office and seen the entire thing. “Why no hug?” he asked, his voice small and upset.

Gwen shook her head, “I don’t know, sweetie,” she whispered. “I don’t know.”

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The wind coming off the bay was crisp and she shivered, pulling her coat tighter around her. “Why wouldn’t you hug Dominic?”

“I can’t,” Rory replied walking with her. “If I did that… I don’t even want to think about what would happen. I just can’t.”

“I’m sorry about Jack,” Martha whispered as they entered the car park.

Rory shook his head, “It’s not a problem. I work for Torchwood, remember? I’m used to his hissy fits.”

Martha chuckled and looped her arm through his. “How old are you?” she asked curiously, trying to determine his age from his appearance. 

“Practically an old man by Torchwood’s standards,” Rory replied with a smile, evading her question completely. 

“You’re not…”

Rory scoffed and shook his head. “Unfortunately not.”

“Oh,” Martha breathed, “I just wondered… What with… God,” she sighed, shaking her head, “this is unreal. What I supposed to say to them?”

Rory stopped in his tracks, “You can’t tell them,” he ordered. “I meant it… They can’t know the truth. If they did…” He shook his head, “I don’t know what affect it would have on the future. And I don’t want to find out. Please. Don’t tell them.”

Martha hesitated before agreeing, “If we get found out somehow, I’m blaming you all the way,” she stated.

He laughed and nodded, “I promise to accept full responsibility,” he swore.

A moment later, she sighed and relented, “I suppose I can keep this to myself for now. I’m good at keeping secrets.”

Rory flashed her a grin that made her do a double take. “I know you are.”

“A word of advice though,” she commented. “Try not to do that. It’s a dead giveaway.”

TBC


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

The friends laughed and stumbled from the nightclub. Each knew they were drunk, but none of them cared. It was Friday night and they didn’t have to work the following day, so they could do whatever they wanted. They would have stayed longer but Walkabout closed at two in the morning. 

“We could go back to mine,” the tallest one – Abigail – suggested, her voice slurring.

Her friend, Jessica, giggled and stumbled along the street, waving her arm around trying to hail an imaginary taxi. “Have you got any booze?” she hiccupped.

Abigail nodded her head, wincing as her foot slipped around in her heeled shoe. “Loads,” she replied, linking her arm through her friend’s.

Neither of them noticed a stranger following them with an evil glint in their eyes.

~

Jack swallowed the bile that was threatening to rise in his throat as he looked around the scene detective Swanson had called them all to. She had seemed less than impressed that she needed their help, but after a tense conversation had admitted Torchwood were the only ones who would be able to understand the apparent strange nature of the case.

The apartment had appeared to be normal, nothing seemed out of the ordinary to the team – and Rory, who had refused to stay outside – as they made their way down the corridor.

When they had reached the living room, the sight that met them was so horrific Gwen had to duck out of the room to compose herself.

Three young girls were in the room – or rather their bodies were. One sat huddled in fear on the couch, another lay by the window, while the third cowered in the corner.

Their skin was charred and blistered, as though they had been subjected to an intense fire. But there were no scorch marks on the walls or the rest of the room. Only the people and the immediate area around them were burned.

Rory took an involuntary step back, shaking his head in disbelief and horror. “No,” he whispered, looking around the room in fear. “It can’t be. That’s not possible.”

TBC


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Jack spun around and stared at the young man. He had been in their time for three weeks now and he was slowly starting to warm up to him. Although, he still didn’t fully trust him.

There was still something about him that was bothering Jack, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. Ianto had told him that he was being paranoid, nothing more.

“What’s wrong?” Jack demanded, stalking across the room and stopping in front of Rory.

Rory’s eyes remained focused on the scene in front of him and Jack shook him lightly. “Hey!” he almost shouted, trying to get his attention. “Focus on me!”

When Rory didn’t react, Jack sighed and looked at Martha and Mickey. “Let’s get him out of here,” he murmured, ushering the young man back out onto the street.

Immediately Jack barked an order to Detective Swanson’s team that they weren’t to go anywhere near the house before Torchwood cleared it. Then Captain’s attention returned to Rory.

“Kid!” he cried, shaking him harshly.

“Jack!” Martha scowled, swatting him away and moving so she was standing in front of Rory. “Let me try.”

He shrugged his shoulders and stepped back, watching as Martha tried to bring Rory back to the present. “Hey,” she whispered, cupping his cheek and looking into his eyes.

Rory blinked slowly before his eyes focused on the black woman in front of him. “What happened?” he whispered.

“We were hoping you would tell us,” Ianto replied, pushing his hands into his pockets. “You zoned out on us.”

The other man sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “You’ve seen something like this before, haven’t you?” Gwen asked softly, recognising his reaction.

“Yeah.” He nodded his head. “Back home. A scene like that is the reason I’m even here in the first place.”

“What do you mean?” Martha asked softly, not moving from where she was standing in front of him.

“Back home,” Rory began, “the Mahreiser hunted down at least a dozen groups of friends. Killing them all. We thought that maybe they were looking for something, but we never figured out what.”

“Are you telling me one of these… Mahraz-things is here?” Mickey demanded, stepping forward. 

“I shot the one that attacked me – mortally wounded it. But the problem is, that they can regenerate when they’re injured fatally. So there’s no way to know what it looks like now.”

Gwen frowned in confusion. “If you shot it back home – in the future – how did it end up here?” 

Rory sighed and covered his face with his hands. “I…” He took a deep breath, tilting his head back and looking up at the sky. “When I shot it, I was surrounded by Mahreiser; dozens of them. I had no choice but to use the Rift Manipulator.”

“Just as the portal opened, the Mahreiser jumped at me. I… I think it fell through the Rift as well.”

TBC


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

“So we have an alien who can regenerate when mortally wounded?” Jack repeated, raising an eyebrow at the younger man.

Rory nodded his head slowly. “It must have fallen through to this time with me.”

“Why didn’t you tell us it had arrived here?” Ianto demanded angrily.

“Because I didn’t know,” he snapped.

Ianto started a little, staring at the younger man in disbelief. The tone of his voice, and the look on his face at that moment, seemed so familiar, but he couldn’t place it, no matter how hard he tried.

Rory sighed and shook his head. “Look, I didn’t know it had arrived here. If I had, I would have told you immediately. Those girls – their blood is on my hands and I have to live with that. The least we can do is figure out where the alien went and what it’s looking for.”

“If we do find it, how do we kill it?” Jack asked. “You said it regenerates when mortally wounded. Surely any injury we cause it will just force it to use a regeneration.”

“And they don’t have a limit like Time Lords,” Rory added.

Jack raised an eyebrow. “How do you know about Time Lords?”

“Because I’m not stupid,” Rory glared. “Can we get back on topic?”

Ianto cut in, leaning forward in his seat and looking at the other man. “How did you find out so much about Mahreiser’s?” he asked quietly, his mind still trying to place why that look was so familiar.

“My dad used to tell me stories about them when I was growing up; always stories about aliens who could change their form when injured and breath fire like dragons. They were practically bedtime stories.”

“Nice father,” Jack commented dryly.

Rory laughed and exchanged an amused glance with Martha. “I suppose he was trying to arm me. Maybe he knew I would need to know about them.”

“I don’t suppose he told you how to kill one for good, did he?” Mickey asked.

He looked over his shoulder at the black man who was leaning against the doorframe and shook his head. “The stories always stopped before the aliens were defeated.”

“Didn’t you ever ask him about it?” Gwen pressed.

“Loads of times,” Rory shrugged. “Dad always told me I’d figure it out one day.”

TBC


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Martha took Rory back to the Hub while the remainder of the team tried to do their jobs. Although, with the state the bodies were in, it was difficult to overcome the horror – and the smell – and focus. Before she left, she estimated that they had been dead for several hours; but with the state of the bodies, it was impossible to be more precise.

The doctor looked over at Rory who was sitting at Ianto’s desk, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. His head was cradled in his hands and he looked a little too pale for her liking.

“Are you okay?” she eventually asked, getting up and pressing the back of her hand against his forehead.

Slowly he lifted his head and smiled wearily – not convincing her at all. “Yeah,” he lied.

She scoffed and shook her head, “Liar.”

Rory chuckled weakly, lowering his hands and slouching back in the chair. “I…” He took a deep breath, closing his eyes tightly. “I’ve never been good at dealing with… The real aspects of this job.”

“The real aspects?” Martha frowned in confusion.

“Aliens I can deal with; Monsters are easy to fight, because they’re not human. When human’s get hurt it…”

“Hurts,” Martha nodded her head, pulling him to his feet and hugging him tightly. “Pray it never gets easier,” she advised him. “The day you stop caring that humans are getting hurt is the day you’re not human anymore.”

Rory smiled and hugged her tightly, pressing a grateful kiss on the top of her head just as the cog door opened and the rest of the team entered the Hub. 

“Did you find anything?” Martha asked, pulling back from Rory and moving to help them.

Jack raised an eyebrow when he saw the pair of them together, but otherwise didn’t say anything about it.

“Nothing that could help us find this thing,” Ianto scowled, pulling off his soggy coat. It had started to rain as soon as they left the car, then stopped thirty seconds later, leaving them all soaking wet.

“Can’t you think of anything else?” Mickey asked, looking over at Rory as he entered the data they had found at the scene – however minute that may be.

Rory shook his head regretfully, “Nothing that’ll help us. There was no pattern to the killings at home. They seemed random, but my… boss seemed to think they were looking for something in particular. But we could never figure out what that was.”

“If they fell through the Rift together,” Gwen began from where she was sitting at her desk, “why has the alien only just started killing?”

Jack ran a hand through his hair, “Just because they fell into the Rift together, doesn’t mean they’d end up in the same time and place. It could have only just arrived for all we know.”

Martha’s computer beeped, indicating that it had finished running whatever search she had instructed it to carry out.

“Finally!” she cried, dashing over to the computer and thumping away at her keyboard.

“What were you doing?” Ianto asked, walking over and standing next to the doctor.

“Isolating the CCTV images from the past few hours. I figured if we find us arriving at the scene and then go back from there, we should have a rough idea about what this alien looks like.”

Jack beamed and bounced across the Hub, hugging her tightly. “That’s why I love you, Martha Jones. You’re a genius.”

“Watch it,” she chided, swatting his arm lightly. “I’m taken.”

“So am I,” Jack pouted, “what’s your point?”

Ianto rolled his eyes and moved away from the main Hub into Jack’s office, using the Captain’s phone to call Tish. In the past year and half, Tish had moved into the apartment that she had only intended to have temporarily; claiming she found it too comfortable a place to leave.

The others had to admit, it was a gorgeous little apartment Ianto had found her. It overlooked Cardiff castle and, while it was big enough to have two bedrooms, it was just the right size for one person.

“Tish,” he greeted when the phone was answered. “How’s Nicky?” There was silence as he listened to what was happening. “Yeah, we’ll be there in a bit.”

He ended the call and made his way back to the work area where Martha and Jack were discussing her idea. “Martha?” Ianto called across to the doctor. “How long will your idea take?”

Martha shrugged her shoulders. “Anything from a few hours to all night,” she replied.

Mickey heaved a sigh and hauled himself to his feet, moving Martha and Jack aside. “I’ll go through them,” he stated, resigned to his fate. “You all have families and lives. I’ll be here… all night.”

Rory smiled and pulled a chair over, “Me too,” he added, sitting next to Mickey. “It’s not like I have a life. Most of my friends probably haven’t even been born yet.”

TBC


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Tish had been surprised when Ianto had told her they were coming to collect Dominic. But, if she were being honest, she was glad to have him off her hands. It was one of her friend’s birthday and they had been planning on going out. The surprise alien attack had thrown every one’s plans into disarray.

Ianto smiled thankfully and took a slumbering Dominic from Martha’s younger sister before heading home. It was almost nine o’clock, and long since past the young boy’s bedtime. Hopefully he would stay sleeping until the next morning – giving Jack and Ianto some time alone.

Jack crept up behind Ianto as the younger Time Agent closed their son’s door softly, and slid his hands around his waist. Ianto tipped his head back and groaned when he felt able hands unfasten his belt and slide underneath his waistband, cupping his balls and idly stroking his cock.

“Do you know what I think?” Jack whispered, tugging on Ianto’s earlobe with his teeth.

Ianto’s breath hitched and he swallowed audibly. “What?” he asked, his voice thick with passion and desire.

“I think you should take me to bed and fuck me,” Jack stated in a matter of fact tone.

Ianto’s groan raised in volume and he turned to face Jack. “God,” he breathed, reaching out and pulling the other man closer, crushing their lips together. “With an invitation like that, how can I refuse?”

Jack laughed and kissed Ianto again, his hands cupping Ianto’s arse through his trousers. Roughly, Jack dragged his lover closer, rubbing against him, moaning lightly at the slight friction he felt. But it wasn’t enough. He needed to feel Ianto inside him.

Hurriedly, Ianto urged Jack towards the bedroom, kicking the door shut and pushing him down on the bed.

Hands fumbled with buttons and zippers, desperate to touch warm flesh and feel each other. Jack groaned when he felt Ianto press his entire body against him. Everywhere they touched, from head to toe, felt like he was on fire.

Ianto fumbled in the drawer, looking for lube. Quickly warming the gel in his hands, he spread some over his fingers before sliding them across Jack’s opening.

Jack took a sharp breath in when Ianto plunged two fingers inside the older man’s body. As much as he loved when they took their time, Jack also found himself completely aroused when Ianto took control and set the pace.

After minimal preparation, Ianto slicked up his own cock and lined up with the now lubricated entrance to his lover’s body.

Their eyes met and Jack nodded, his chest heaving as he panted for breath. “Please, Ianto…” He reached out, grasping Ianto’s hand in his own. 

Ianto smiled and kissed him hotly, sliding inside in one motion.

Jack’s body tried to resist the intrusion, but Ianto didn’t relent until he was completely sheathed in Jack’s warm channel. The Captain, who had closed his eyes, opened them and smirked at Ianto, rolling his hips and making the other man moan.

“You play dirty, Will Kanaris,” Ianto muttered, squeezing the base of Jack’s cock almost painfully.

Jack smirked and rolled his hips once more, moaning when he felt Ianto’s cock brush against his prostate. “Yeah,” he breathed in agreement.

Ianto began moving, pulling out and pushing back into Jack’s body at an almost painfully slow pace. He lasted for several thrusts, until his body decided it couldn’t take any more and the pace began to increase.

It didn’t take long for Jack to be writhing underneath him. He alternated between pushing up into his hand as Ianto stroked him, and pressing down against his cock as Ianto fucked him.

Soon Jack was pleading in their native tongue and Ianto thrust into him one last time before he came with a shuddering cry of the other man’s name, Jack not too far behind.

TBC


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Gwen walked through the police station a week later, carrying her car keys in one hand and a photograph in the other. Anyone watching her could tell she was a woman on a mission. And she was: A mission to find her former partner.

Andy’s desk had been down the main corridor, up the stairs, past the filing cabinets, around the corner and under the arch. It wasn’t there anymore.

She knew it had been a long time since she had seen any of them – and she knew she was crap at keeping in touch with her old colleagues and friends. Ever since joining Torchwood, it had pretty much taken over her life. She had barely had time for Rhys, let alone anyone else.

As she made her was back down the stairs to reception, she thought about how different her life was now, compared to what she had been planning five years ago.

Five years ago, she had intended to marry Rhys, have lots of children, go back to work part time before retiring on her pension. Now, after working for Torchwood for nearly three years, she was almost scared to have sex with Rhys in case she got pregnant.

They all knew Ianto and Jack were trying for another baby – all of the team had caught them trying at least once in various locations around the Hub. But after a year of trying, it was becoming more and more obvious that Jack wasn’t destined to carry another child.

Gwen didn’t want to be the one who got pregnant by accident when her friends were purposely trying – and failing each time – to conceive. She just wouldn’t do that. No. Sex with Rhys was out of the question until Jack was pregnant.

She had told her husband her reasons for being extra careful and the Welshman had accepted his wife’s caring nature with good grace – although he did make a joke about Torchwood and Jack intruding on their sex life once more.

“Oi!” a familiar voice shouted from the side of her.

Gwen blinked in surprise and slowed to a halt. She had been so caught up in her own thoughts that she hadn’t even realised Andy was sitting at a desk right next to her.

“There you are!” she cried, seeing her friend looking up at her in confusion. “I was looking for you!”

Andy raised an eyebrow. “You can’t have been looking very hard,” he commented. “You’ve walked past me twice.”

“I have?” Gwen’s forehead crumpled in confusion. “Oh. Sorry. Busy week, lots on my mind.” 

She unfolded the photo in her hand and held it out to Andy. “You couldn’t run that through your files and see if there are any matches, could you?” she asked, looking at him with her eyes wide, praying he wouldn’t turn her down. 

He never had and she could easily override him, but she didn’t want to play the Torchwood card with Andy unless she had to.

“So you didn’t just come here to see us lower beings?” Andy commented dryly, placing the photograph in the scanner and pressing the ‘scan’ button.

Gwen sighed in resignation. “Andy, please…”

He nodded his head, “I know… I know…” He held up his hands in surrender. “Special Ops is a full time gig.”

Silence fell over them as the computer scanned the images and began scouring their databases. “It’ll take a good half hour,” he advised the former police officer. “You want to grab a coffee downstairs or something?”

Gwen grinned at him, happy they seemed to be able to be at least friendly to each other. “I would love to.”

TBC


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Dominic looked up from where he was hiding under Ianto’s desk when he heard Jack’s phone beginning to ring, playing a loud obnoxious song he thought fit Gwen perfectly, but the Welshwoman hated – Look at me, by Geri Halliwell.

The young boy scowled and pressed his hands over his ears in an attempt to block out the noise. Rory chuckled to himself and silently agreed that Dominic was right; the song was horrible – it felt like his ears were bleeding. 

Dominic ran out from under the desk, almost running into Rory on his way over to Jack. Rory quickly jumped back, moving out of the small boy’s way – almost crashing into the coffee machine as he tried to make sure to avoid all contact.

The toddler clambered up onto Jack’s lap and pointed at the phone. “Stop it!” he instructed the device.

Everyone in the Hub laughed as Jack answered the call, much to Dominic’s – and everyone’s – gratitude.

“Gwen,” he greeted, listening to what the woman was saying. “Where?” Carefully he balanced Dominic and managed to scribble something down on a piece of scrap paper. “We’ll be there soon. I just need to do something.”

Jack cancelled the call and threw his phone on the desk. “We have three possible locations,” he advised them, holding onto Dominic and standing up. “Andy managed to find ID photos on the housing authorities website. There are about a dozen matches, but three are more likely.”

He pressed a kiss on the top of Dominic’s head and handed him to Tish, despite the boy’s protests. “Before we go… Martha,” he turned to the young doctor. “I need you to see you for a second.” 

Instantly knowing what Jack wanted her to do, Martha sighed and shook her head. “Jack…”

“Please, Martha,” he said firmly, not wanting to have a personal conversation in front of the rest of them. “It won’t take long.”

She sighed, knowing that she wasn’t going to succeed arguing with the Captain. “Fine,” she reluctantly agreed, indicating with her hand towards the Medical bay.

Jack quickly followed her, unfastening his shirt as he went. Martha quickly scrubbed her hands and pulled on surgical gloves. The Time Agent was already sitting on the examination table with a tourniquet fastened around his bicep, when she turned around with a syringe in her hand.

She smiled as she carefully slid the needle into Jack’s vein, noticing he didn’t even wince. “At least you’re better with needles than Ianto,” she commented, filling the syringe with blood.

“Hey!” Ianto shouted indignantly from the platform above them.

They both looked up, laughing in amusement when they saw that Ianto was looking everywhere but at the needle – proving her point completely.

Martha rolled her eyes and moved over to the computer, entering the blood into a small vial hooked up to a machine that whirred loudly. She knew it was alien in origin, but it was the best at picking blood diseases and discrepancies up as soon as possible.

Not even five minutes passed, until Martha turned around with a sorrowful expression on her face. She shook her head sadly, “I’m sorry, Jack,” she whispered, stepping to the side so they could see the results for themselves.

Each section of the screen was displaying the same thing. Jack wasn’t pregnant. Just like every other test they had done.

Ianto quickly made his way down to the examination table and hugged his lover tightly, whispering comforting words in his ear.

They didn’t have long to dwell on their situation, because Jack’s phone rang – no doubt it was Gwen wanting to know what was taking them so long.

~

Gwen was waiting for them outside the police station, tapping her foot impatiently. It had been thirty minutes since she had called Jack to tell him she had found potential addresses. And they still hadn’t turned up. 

She should have just hacked into the system from Torchwood; it would have been easier. But, in truth, she had wanted to see her friend.

She checked her phone – and the time – for the fourth time in as many minutes. 

Just as she was ready to give in to temptation and call them for the third time, the large black SUV swung around the corner, followed at a more sensible speed by Ianto’s sleek silver BMW. How he afforded a car that fancy, Gwen had no idea. She could barely afford the payments on her Renault.

“About time!” she shouted as Jack climbed out of the car.

“Sorry,” he lied, flashing her his usual thousand-watt smile; even though he was feeling far from happy inside. “Traffic.”

She mirrored his smile and felt her annoyance disappearing at his presence. Once upon a time, she would have weak-kneed being on the receiving end of that smile, now she was just happy he was actually grinning again.

Jack clapped his hands, rubbing the palms together. “Right,” he began, “Ianto, you and Martha take one address. Mickey and I will take the other. Gwen, you’ll have to go with Rory.”

Rory sighed in annoyance and moved over to Gwen. “Could you at least make it sound like you trust me?”

Jack didn’t comment; he just climbed back behind the wheel of the SUV, Mickey heading to the passenger side.

“Him sending you with Gwen is his way of showing he trusts you,” Ianto commented quietly. He headed back over to his car, Martha following him with a small smile on her face. “Don’t question him, otherwise he’ll think he has reason not to trust you.”

TBC


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16a

The address Ianto had been given was a new residential block of flats, not too far out of the centre of the city. He remembered them being built – he also remembered looking at the price and wondering who was stupid enough to pay that much money for a one bed-roomed apartment; he hadn’t even looked at a two bed-roomed place.

Salina Meribth lived on the third floor, in apartment 3b, if the copy of her driver’s licence was to be believed. Andy had printed them copies of each licence and ID card to make it easier for them to split up and find the correct person.

As they made their way up the stairs, they heard shouting coming from somewhere down the corridor. From this distance, it was impossible to tell where the sound was coming from.

Ianto pressed a finger to his lips, indicating that Martha should remain silent. The young doctor nodded her head, following Ianto’s example and pulling out her own gun as they made their way toward the noise.

TBC


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 16b

Rory climbed out of Gwen’s car and stretched his legs, groaning when he felt blood rush back to his limbs. Pins and needles were creeping up from his toes. It felt very, very strange to walk. 

“I told you to change the seat,” Gwen commented, laughing as she slid out of the driver’s seat and locked the door.

“I wasn’t expecting the drive to take this long,” he retorted, stretching his back, wincing when it popped painfully. “Didn’t you ever think about getting a different car? How tall is Rhys? There’s no way he could fit in there.”

Gwen laughed and rolled her eyes. “He has his own car.” She ran her hand lovingly over the roof, “Besides, this is my baby.”

“I thought it was only guys who got that attached to their cars,” Rory commented dryly, looking around him in disdain.

The address they had been given turned out to be a council estate. Graffiti covered one wall – pink spray paint spelling out a Welsh curse word Gwen didn’t even understand. A short distance away, they could hear a baby crying loudly and even louder baseline music.

“Maybe I shouldn’t leave it parked here,” Gwen murmured, glancing around at the local Chav kids suspiciously.

Rory laughed and headed over to the building. “If it disappears, we’ll hang one of these Chav’s with their chains and suffocate them with their own Burberry shirts.”

As Gwen used her PDA to hack in to the electronic security keypad on the door, Rory grimaced as a bolt of pain shot through his skull. He quickly turned away from Gwen, screwing his eyes closed against the pain. 

His hopes that she hadn’t noticed were futile. She frowned in concern, “Everything okay?” she asked frowning at him before the keypad beeped, allowing them access.

Rory nodded his head dismissively; plastering what he hoped was a sincere onto his face. “I get bad headaches,” he replied.

He really hoped she didn’t press him for more information. He didn’t like lying to her – any of them, if he were being honest – but them finding out the truth about him would, more than likely, be far more disastrous than he cared to admit. 

Rory was positive that Jack still didn’t trust him; despite what Ianto said. Him finding out that Rory was…

Another bolt of pain shot through his head and he let out a quiet cry, reaching out a hand to stabilise himself. 

Gwen gasped in horror when she saw him slump against the wall. “Maybe we should call Jack…” she began to suggest, placing her hand on his arm to steady the young man.

“No!” Rory cried, making her jump back in surprise. “I mean…” He took deep breaths. “I’ll be okay, it’s just… the greater the distance; the worse the pain gets.”

Her look of confusion deepened and she opened her mouth to question him further. To his relief, Rory was saved from explaining further – not that he could explain if he wanted; he couldn’t explain what he didn’t understand – when a loud bang sounded above them. 

Rory looked at Gwen questioningly. “What apartment are we looking for?” he asked quietly, forcing himself to ignore the pain – something he had become a master at - and withdrawing the gun Ianto had given him when they left the Hub.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” she questioned, still looking at him with worried green eyes. Rory nodded stubbornly and she consulted her photo ID card, “Michelle McCormick, apartment 2c.”

Blue met green as they looked at each worriedly. “That’s directly above us,” Rory whispered as they made their way up the stairs.

TBC


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 16c

The sound of tyres squealing against the tarmac filled the otherwise silent air, as a large black SUV came tearing around the corner. Instantly net curtains were pulled to the side, allowing residents of the houses to watch as the SUV – marked ‘TORCHWOOD’ – tore to the end of the cul-de-sac before skidding to a stop, inches from the kerb.

“I don’t think the neighbours approve of your driving style,” Mickey commented, getting out of the car and slamming the door shut.

Ianto had bid him good look the first time he had gotten in the car with Jack. Although Mickey didn’t understand what everyone was complaining about. Compared to the warp jump he had used to get to their world, Jack’s race car speed was nothing.

Mickey jogged around the car to meet Jack, who was stood on the kerb, looking at the neighbourhood around him. A look of disdain flittered across the Captain’s face as he saw how identical each house on the cul-de-sac was. Not just slightly similar, exactly the same. It was far too creepy for his tastes – and he was used to creepy.

“When all the women on this street turn against us, get scared,” Jack advised, pressing a button on the keys and locking the doors automatically.

Across the street, he saw a net curtain fall back into place, as the person previously watching them disappeared. Each house on the street was the same; people hurriedly looking away when they realised they were the ones being watched.

“Obviously they don’t get many people who drive SUVs around here,” Mickey commented, following Jack down the gravelled driveway to the redbrick house.

The lawn was perfectly manicured – again, like every house on the street – and there was a little gnome sitting at the end of a very shallow pond, which didn’t appear to house any fish; just water.

Jack indicated that Mickey should enter the house through the front, while the Captain headed around the back to block any possible escape routes.

Joanne Brown lived in the house – number 33 – alone. She hadn’t lived there long, only a few months, just under the time Rory had been in their time. All the other potential suspects had lived in the area for the same amount of time. To Jack, it seemed a little too suspicious that all three suspects suddenly moved to Cardiff and at least partially matched their descriptions.

The back door was slightly ajar and beyond it Jack could only see into the kitchen, but no occupants.

Suddenly a shrill scream sounded, followed by a large crash and a muffled curse.

Both Mickey and Jack immediately drew their weapons and entered the detached house.

TBC


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 16d

All three pairs entered their respective premises immediately, their weapons drawn and ready for action. None of them knew what to expect – or that the rest of the teams had heard suspicious noises from inside their various properties.

Jack was the first to be spotted by his suspect. Joanne Brown looked up in surprise and fear when she saw a man in a long greatcoat enter her house, carrying a gun.

“What do you think you’re doing?” she demanded, her accent thick – clearly she was a born and bred Yorkshire woman, and apparently very disgruntled.

The Captain heaved a sigh and apologised profusely, flashing his badge and explaining that he was just doing a routine check of the neighbourhood for anything strange.

Mickey fell through the door a few seconds later, demanding to know what was going on. 

Joanne explained that she had carelessly dropped a knife onto the floor. The scream they had heard was one of fear, as she thought it was going to hit her foot. In her haste to avoid the sharp blade, she had jumped back, crashing into the table and knocking over a chair.

Upon instruction, she verified that she was in fact a real human and not an alien. Proving this with photographs of her family and various official documents that couldn’t have been faked to the quality that they were. 

Angrily, Joanne forced them out of the house on to the driveway, before slamming the door in their faces.

Shame faced and cursing themselves for their own stupidity, Jack and Mickey headed down the path to where the SUV was still parked next to the kerb.

Across the street, many people were standing in their windows, openly watching the duo – not making any effort to hide their actions. 

“I can’t decide who I want to kill,” Jack commented, pulling out the car keys and unlocking the vehicle. “Gwen or Andy.”

Mickey chuckled and rolled his eyes, “It’s just a dead-end, that’s all. It’s not like we haven’t hit them before. Maybe the other’s had better luck than we did.”

Jack sighed and leant back in the driver’s seat. “I hope so,” he muttered. He tapped his index finger to the blue-tooth earpiece he was still wearing, intending to contact the other members of his team.

As soon as Jack activated the communications device a horrible noise came filtering through the line. 

It took them both a few moments to realise what the noise was, but when they did, Mickey and Jack looked at each other in horror. Someone was screaming.

TBC


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 17

Jack flinched and pulled the comms unit away from his ear. “What the fuck!?” he shouted, rubbing his hand over his ear and pouting with pain.

“What’s wrong?” Mickey asked urgently, stepping up to his boss.

“Screaming,” Jack replied, tentatively putting the device to his ear again. He sighed with relief when he heard that everything was silent once more.

“Guys?” he asked, calling out to the rest of his team.

There was static on the line for a few moments and, just when Jack was beginning to get worried, Ianto’s voice spoke, sounding strained and worried. “What was that screaming?” he demanded.

Jack started in surprise. “You heard that too?” he said, trying to keep his voice even as panic began to surface inside him.

Ianto agreed, “Nearly deafened us.”

“What about your suspect?” Jack asked quickly.

“No good,” Martha replied. “She’s just moved here from Aberdeen with her two year old son. She’s not our alien.”

Jack nodded his head, thinking things over, “And ours has been living with her parents until she moved down here a few weeks ago. So that leaves…”

“Gwen and Rory,” they all chorused. 

Urgently Jack called out to the pair over their comms links. “There’s silence,” he stated, his blue eyes going wide in fear.

Silence over the comms was never a good thing and Jack felt his panic grow quicker and quicker. 

He had known separating was a bad idea; especially since they didn’t know how to kill the creature for good. He should have never let Rory and Gwen go off on their own. 

They should have split into two groups - Jack or Ianto with each one – and searched two locations first, leaving the third until later.

Silence meant only one thing. One – or both – of them was hurt and they had no idea who, or how bad their injuries would be when they got to them.

TBC


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 18

The SUV swung around the corner, wheels spinning noisily on the concrete as it screeched to a halt. Pulling the keys out of the ignition, but not making any effort to lock the doors, Jack jumped out of the vehicle, almost before it had stopped.

“What floor were they on?” he demanded, heading into the building.

“Gwen said first,” Mickey replied following the Captain.

Together, they took the stairs two at a time, only coming to a stop when they reached the correct floor. 

When they did get there, what they saw almost made Jack’s heart stop cold. The door was hanging on to the frame by one hinge; clearly something had hit it with some force.

Inside the apartment, Rory was kneeling on the floor with Gwen lying down; her head cradled in the young man’s lap.

Loud footsteps sounded on the stairs and Jack turned to see Ianto and Martha sprinting towards them, equal looks of terror on their faces.

As the rest of the team approached, Rory lifted his head and they could all see that he was crying uncontrollably, barely able to breath between sobs. “She…” He hiccupped and shook his head, “She saved my life,” he whispered.

Martha immediately pushed past Jack and Mickey, running over to them and falling to her knees. She recoiled and gasped in horror when she saw Gwen. The young woman’s flesh was red and burned. Her face was untouched, but her chest and torso were completely charred. 

There was no way she could have survived injuries like that.

“I tried to save her,” Rory sobbed, more tears falling. “She… I…”

Martha moved towards him and wrapped her arms around him, pressing her lips against his dark hair. 

There would have been nothing any of them could have done for her. With the amount of burns she’d received, there would have been no way she could have survived for long. Gwen could have lived for maybe half an hour, maximum. 

Jack felt his world slipping out from under him and he felt Ianto’s hand on his shoulder, turning him around to face him. The younger Time Agent’s face was streaked with tears as well, but he still put on a brave face, pulling Jack into his arms.

He knew the Captain had to be hurting more than he was. Gwen had always been there, since he had first hired her. Right from day one, she had never left his life. Even when they had fought – clashed heads over something, no matter how trivial – she had always returned to Torchwood, to Jack, the next morning ready to face a new day.

Now she was gone. Nothing they could do would bring her back. 

TBC


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 19

“We need to tell Rhys,” Jack eventually murmured against Ianto’s neck and shoulder. “Maybe I should Retcon him. Make him forget her.”

Ianto pressed a wet kiss on Jack’s forehead. “You can’t do that. Making him forget her defiles her memory. She deserves to be properly remembered and mourned.”

Rory stood on shaky legs, reverently resting Gwen’s head against the ground on which she was lying. He squeezed Martha’s shoulder thankfully before he slowly made his way over to Jack and Ianto. 

His blue eyes remained trained on the ground in shame, unable to look at the leaders of Torchwood.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “The Mahreiser… Before it… It said it was looking for this…” He pulled his necklace out from under his shirt. “She kept saying ‘the necklace’, over and over again.” 

“What could she want with it?” Mickey asked, his voice thick with emotion. He hadn’t known Gwen for that long, but they had quickly become fast friends; losing her cut him deep.

Rory shrugged his shoulders. “She didn’t say.”

“How…” Jack closed his eyes, willing the sobs he could feel rising in his throat. “What happened?” he eventually whispered, placing a hand over Ianto’s where it was resting on his shoulder.

Rory took a shuddering breath and murmured, “We were attacked. It blindsided us. There was no way we could have spotted it coming. It made a move for the necklace but I managed to kick it back.”

“It breathed a spurt of fire at me – would have killed me, if Gwen hadn’t jumped in front of me. She took the full force of the flames.”

Each member of Torchwood collectively gasped in horror at Rory’s admission. “I shot the Mahreiser, emptied my clip into it. It got away, though. I wasn’t longer than a few moments but…”

He broke off, shaking his head as fresh tears began to fall. Martha got to her feet, crossed the room and hugged him again tightly. “You couldn’t have done anything,” she assured him. “Her injuries were too severe. She wouldn’t have lasted very long. Those few moments wouldn’t have made a difference.”

To everyone’s surprise, Jack took a step forward, extracting Rory from Martha’s arms and hugging him tightly. “You did nothing wrong,” he whispered in the young man’s ear. Even though he was in so much pain himself, Rory needed to know that he wasn’t to blame for Gwen’s death.

Rory cried and shook his head, unable to believe that she was gone. When he had found himself in the past, he thought he would finally be able to spend time with the Welshwoman, who he had spent his whole life hearing stories about, but never being able to speak to her.

Now that he had finally had the chance to meet her and get to know what she had been like, losing her hurt so much: Far worse that what he had anticipated.

“It wasn’t supposed to be like this,” he sobbed, clutching Jack’s braces as he leant against the Time Agent’s chest. 

Everyone froze in disbelief and Jack pulled back with a furious expression on his face as he looked down at Rory; his blue eyes shining murderously. “You knew she was going to die?” he shouted.

“She was already dead when I was born,” Rory whispered, not fazed by the Captain’s anger. “I couldn’t tell you; or stop it. I’m not allowed to change history. But my dad always said she died a hero, protecting the people she loved. Lying bastard.”

Jack put his hand under Rory’s chin, tilting his head back. “She did die a hero. She saved your life, so we could figure out a way to send you back home, where you belong.”

Rory sniffled and leant back against Jack, “Why didn’t you tell me, Dad?” he whispered, not fully aware that he was speaking out loud.

“What…? Are you talking to me?”

TBC


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a flashback.

Chapter 20

_Rory emptied his clip into the Mahreiser, watching as it stumbled back, regenerating slowly before running away. He didn’t care that the alien had been lost again; the only thing he cared about was Gwen._

_Painfully, he fell to the ground next to the Welshwoman. The smell of burnt flesh hung in the air, almost making him sick. But he forced down his gag reflex, as he gently cradled Gwen’s head in his lap._

_“Please,” he begged, tears beginning to fall as he smoothed her hair down. “You can’t die.”_

_The burns had been to her torso and lower body, leaving her head and face intact and unmarred. Her green eyes watered with pain as she looked up at Rory. “You look so much like your tad,” she whispered._

_Rory stared at her in surprise. “I didn’t realise it at first.” She chuckled lightly, which resulted in a violent coughing fit. “But once I did, it was obvious. Your eyes… No wonder you won’t meet anyone’s gaze. They’re exactly the same as Ianto’s.”_

_The young man shook his head, a smile on his face. “Why didn’t you say something if you knew?”_

_“Timelines,” Gwen replied. “I wasn’t sure if they were supposed to know. Otherwise you would have told us.”_

_“At first I thought you were Dominic, what with your reluctance to touch him. But then I saw you playing with him in Jack’s office and realised how different you actually are.”_

_Rory smiled through his tears. “He’s my older brother,” he confirmed with a lopsided grin. “I was terrified that if I touched him, the world would implode somehow. Like stepping on a butterfly and all that. But I looked it up in the archives will Tad was out, touching Dominic shouldn’t make too much of a difference. I hope.”_

_Gwen chuckled weakly. “At the moment, you’re the older brother,” she pointed out._

_“I’m so sorry,” Rory murmured, unable to hold back more tears. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this.”_

_Gwen shook her head, “Nonsense.” She winced and closed her eyes against the pain. “Jack says that history is being re-written all the time. Things happen when they’re supposed to happen.”_

_“Don’t… Don’t feel… guilty.” She was finding it more difficult to talk and Rory knew it wouldn’t be long. “I saved your life. That’s worth dying for. Tell… Tell everyone I love them all… And… Tell Rhys I love him so much and I’m… I’m sorry.”_

_As Gwen took her last breath, Rory swore he would avenge her by finding a way to kill the Mahreiser. He wouldn’t go home until the damned creature was no longer breathing._

TBC


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 21

The atmosphere in the Hub later that night was that of sadness and mourning. Jack had personally informed Rhys of Gwen’s death, even allowing the Welshman to punch him angrily before they collapsed against each other, united in grief.

The Captain had offered to Retcon Rhys, wipe his memories of his late wife and their life together, allowing him to have a normal life once more. Far away from Jack, Torchwood and all memories of losing the love of his life.

Predictably, Rhys had refused. He knew Jack was only suggesting something that would make the memory go away. He would always feel the loss of Gwen – even if he didn’t know what the cause was.

Jack had left Rhys alone after several hours and returned to a silent Hub. Ianto was sitting on the sofa in the main Hub, Martha next to him with her head resting on the Time Agent’s shoulder. Mickey was leaning back in his chair, lost in thought as he watched Myfanwy wail mournfully from her perch – even she sensed Gwen’s death and the sorrow in the rest of the team.

“Where’s Rory?” he asked quietly, throwing his greatcoat haphazardly over Ianto’s chair. 

The younger man lifted his head and nodded towards Jack’s office. “He’s locked himself in there.”

“And you didn’t try to get in?” Jack raised an eyebrow; restraint wasn’t exactly Ianto’s specialty.

“I get the impression he only wants to speak to you.”

“Tough,” Jack growled, stalking over to his door. “If he wants to talk, he can talk to both of us.”

He banged on the door with his fist. “Open up, kid!” he called through the wood. “We need to talk.”

A long silence followed Jack’s command. Just when he was ready to knock again, the door opened, revealing an exhausted Rory, whose cheeks were stained with tears.

Jack instructed everyone but Ianto to go home before brushing past Rory and entering his office. He didn’t notice when only one team member followed his instructions.

Sitting down on the couch, he looked up at Rory. “Are you Dominic?” he asked bluntly.

The young man shook his head, choking back a laugh. “No,” he replied honestly. “My name really is Rory. Rory Franklin Harkness-Jones.”

“Franklin?” Ianto whispered, looking over at Jack with knowing eyes. They had already agreed that if they had another boy, he would have ‘Franklin’ as a middle name - after Jack’s father.

“I really do work for Torchwood,” he continued. “Nick’s in charge… Well,” he laughed and rolled his eyes, “he likes to think he’s in charge.”

“Nick,” Jack repeated, an affectionate smile spreading across his face.

“Dominic,” Rory nodded. “He took over when you both decided to retire.”

Ianto’s eyes went wide and he stared at Rory – their son. “Retire?” he repeated incredulously. He couldn’t imagine Jack getting bored of his job; he had been doing it for so long now. It was part of who the Captain was.

Jack was silent and Rory looked over at him nervously. “Say something,” he pleaded. “Please, dad…”

The elder Time Agent looked up in surprise and studied Rory for a long moment before finally asking, “Who carried you?”

Rory frowned and averted his eyes guiltily, “I… I can’t tell you that,” he whispered apologetically. “If I told you, I might end up changing the future. I…”

Jack remained silent, getting to his feet and moving away from them. Seeing his father’s dejected look, Rory closed his eyes and sighed, “I’m sorry.”

“Did Gwen…” Jack closed his eyes against the pain. “Did she know?” he asked, turning around to face the younger man.

Rory nodded his head slowly. “I didn’t tell her. She worked it out. I didn’t know until she… Just before she…” he trailed off, unable to finish his sentence.

Ianto reached over and placed a hand on Rory’s – their son’s; that would take some getting used to – arm, squeezing gently. “It wasn’t your fault,” he whispered, trying to reassure him.

Rory nodded his head mutely, biting back tears, clearly not believing what the other man was saying.

“Does anyone else know who you are?” Jack asked, his features softening as he realised how much guilt his son was carrying.

“I do,” a third voice spoke from the doorway.

TBC


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a flashback.

Chapter 22

_Rory winced as Martha withdrew the needle once she had finished drawing all the blood she needed. “For all of Torchwood’s technology, I can’t believe you haven’t figured out a way to draw blood without piercing the skin.”_

_Martha chuckled distractedly and moved over to the computer, sliding the blood vial into a nearby machine that would conduct a full blood work up in a very short space of time._

_“You sound like Ianto,” she murmured, tapping at her keyboard, bringing up the results of the test._

_Her eyes widened and she spun around, staring at Rory with an open mouth. “You…”_

_“What?” he replied, feigning innocence; even though he knew that the doctor had just discovered his secret._

_“You… Dominic?” she hissed through her teeth._

_Rory shook his head. “Rory,” he corrected, sliding down from the examination table. Over her shoulder he could see that the results had shown that part of his DNA matched both Ianto and Jack._

_“Please…” He took her hands in his, looking into her brown eyes pleadingly. “Don’t tell them you know. I… I don’t know why I’m here. I haven’t even been born yet. If they knew… I don’t even want to know how that might change the future – my history.”_

_Martha frowned deeply and Rory tightened his grip on her hands, “Please,” he begged, his blue eyes filling with tears. “They can’t know. Dad doesn’t even like me; I don’t want him to know I’m his son.”_

_Her eyes softened and she hugged him tightly, not missing how natural it felt to comfort him; he was her nephew, after all. Or, at least, he would be._

_“It’s not that he doesn’t like you,” she assured him, standing up for Jack, hoping that he wouldn’t prove her to be a liar. “It’s just… If he knew…”_

_“No,” Rory insisted. “He can’t know. My whole existence could depend on it. If he doesn’t trust me – the grown man his future son will turn into – he might decide not to have me. Or to wait for a while before they get pregnant; either way, I’m screwed.”_

_“Who gets pregnant?” Martha whispered, her eyes wide and hopeful._

_Rory just gave her a look that told her she was being stupid for thinking he would tell her something as vital as that._

TBC


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 23 

Jack looked up at Martha in surprise; he thought she had gone home as he instructed. “How did you find out?” he demanded.

“When you asked me to do a full blood work up on him,” the doctor replied, folding her arms across her chest and stepping further into the room.

Ianto scowled at her, “And you didn’t tell us,” he stated.

“She couldn’t,” Rory spoke, jumping to Martha’s defence. “Don’t blame her. I made her promise to keep this secret.”

Silence fell over the four of them as Jack and Ianto absorbed the information. “I didn’t mean for you to find out,” Rory admitted. “Especially not now. Not like this. Please, you have to believe me, if I had known how Gwen was going to…” He took a deep breath, “If I had known how it was going to happen, I would have done everything in my power to stop it.”

Jack shook his head, “You wouldn’t have been able to,” he replied. “You said she was dead when you were born; destiny’s a bitch, but…”

“Things were supposed to happen like this,” Ianto finished for his lover, placing his hand on Jack’s arm and squeezing gently.

Jack smiled thankfully at Ianto and got to his feet, moving to where Rory was sitting. Slowly he sat down next to the young man and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. “This isn’t your fault, Rory. You can’t blame yourself. If you do, the blame will consume you and you’ll never be able to live your life.”

Rory laughed and leant into Jack’s embrace; it had been so long since he had been able to let himself be comforted by his father that he welcomed the familiarity; even if it was from the past version of his parent.

“The necklace!” Martha suddenly cried, making them all jump in fright.

“What?” Rory frowned in confusion. 

“You said the Mahreiser is after the necklace.” Rory nodded in confirmation. “If you don’t have it, we don’t have to worry about them taking it from you.”

“What about what they’ll do to him when they realise he doesn’t have it?” Jack pointed out.

Rory smiled and hugged Jack, “I’ll be okay. I can defend myself more than well enough.”

“You can?” Ianto asked in surprise.

“With an assassin and a Time Agent as my parents? What do you think?” he smirked, rolling his eyes.

Jack chuckled and held his hand out, waiting for Rory to take it off. Once the necklace was in his palm, Jack moved to the safe in the corner, opening it and pulling out an empty container small enough for the necklace to fit in without being tangled.

As Jack put the necklace away, Ianto’s gaze turned to Rory, who in turn was watching Jack. The assassin could see why they hadn’t realised who the young man really was. He didn’t look that much like Jack or Ianto; while Dominic was practically the spitting image of Jack.

Rory only tore his eyes away from Jack once the necklace was secure in the archives. He knew it was safe in there; only Jack and Ianto knew the codes – well, they were officially they only ones who knew the codes. The couple didn’t need to know that Rory knew them as well.

He looked over at Ianto, meeting his eyes with a smile. When their eyes locked, Ianto let out an audible gasp and Rory struggled to suppress a laugh. Gwen had been right; the reason he had avoided everyone’s gaze, was because of how similar his eyes were to Ianto’s own. 

They were the biggest indication of his parentage. Well, exterior indication; inside was a completely different story.

Martha nodded when Jack announced that the necklace was secure and smiled in satisfaction. She held her hand out to Rory, “Shall we head home? Tom said he was making Spaghetti; it should be amusing.”

Rory laughed and hugged Jack, then Ianto, wishing them goodnight before sliding his hand into his aunt’s.

It was only at the door when Martha paused and turned back to Ianto, looking at him in disbelief and surprise, her mind only just registering what Rory had said. “You were an assassin?”

TBC


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 24

Dominic was asleep for the night, cuddled around his favourite blanket and grasping his best teddy as he slept peacefully. At the Hub he had seemed disorientated by Gwen’s absence and a little confused about why everyone was upset – even joining in the crying for a short while.

Jack leant on the door and closed his eyes, feeling the emotions of the day beginning to smother him. He had lost Gwen and found out the truth about Rory all in the space of a few hours and his mind was swimming.

When he felt Ianto’s arms slide around him, Jack let out a sob he didn’t realise he had been holding in.

The younger man turned Jack around and kissed him softly. “Come on,” Ianto whispered, tugging on his lover’s hands, urging him in the direction of the bedroom, leaving Dominic alone for the night – Rory had dragged Martha away after Ianto had assured her that he wouldn’t kill any of them.

Jack allowed himself to be pulled into the master bedroom. Softly, Ianto closed the door and turned to face his lover. “Shh…” he whispered, kissing Jack’s lips when he started to protest.

He wasn’t about to let Jack wallow in his grief – even though he was hurting himself, he wanted to remind Jack that although Gwen was gone, there was still the rest of the team to live for.

Ianto ran his hands up Jack’s arms and down his chest – never breaking the kiss as he unfastened the buttons on his shirt. With each undone button, he slipped his fingers underneath the cloth, brushing the tips over his lover’s soft skin.

Jack tipped his head back, exposing his neck to Ianto and let out a soft moan when the other man’s fingers found his nipple. Slowly Ianto teased one into a hard nub before sliding the palm of his hand across the toned planes of Jack’s chest and providing the same attentions to the other.

When he was done teasing and twisting Jack’s nipples, Ianto leant down and slowly swiped his tongue over one – then the other. Jack gasped loudly and his hand flew to Ianto’s head, burying his fingers in the younger Time agent’s hair as he blew hot air over Jack’s sensitive skin.

Ianto kissed his way up Jack’s chest and neck, pushing his shirt and braces off his shoulders and down his arms. “Lie down,” he requested, his voice nothing more than a whisper, but still seeming to fill the entire room.

Silently, Jack obliged; stepping backwards until the back of his legs hit the bed, before climbing onto the soft mattress.

When he was lying flat on his back, Ianto crawled towards him, edging further up his lover’s body, until their faces were equal. Ianto kissed him softly, easily coaxing Jack into reacting to his ministrations.

Jack gasped and jerked a little as Ianto slid his hands inside the trousers the Captain was wearing; he hadn’t even realised Ianto had unfastened them, so good was his distraction.

Ianto curled his fingers around Jack’s rapidly hardening erection, stroking him slowly as he continued kissing him. Nothing about their time together was hurried, all pressure from the outside world and Torchwood was gone. This was about reconnecting with each other and allowing themselves to be comforted.

Slowly Ianto pulled the navy blue trousers and underwear down, pausing only to unfasten the other man’s boots. It wasn’t long before Jack was naked and laid bare to Ianto’s hungry gaze.

“Perfect,” the younger man whispered, leaning down and pressing a kiss against Jack’s stomach.

Any retort Jack had been about to say disappeared – along with all coherent thought – as Ianto’s mouth moved lower, pressing a kiss against the tip of his cock.

Ianto’s tongue slipped out, sampling a taste of the delicious menu that would shortly follow his appetiser. He moaned aloud as Jack’s salty taste exploded on his tongue, almost overpowering his taste buds.

Jack groaned and buried his fingers in Ianto’s hair once more, trying to urge him to move his mouth more. “Please…” he pleaded, canting his hips forward, only for Ianto to move his head back a little.

“Tell me, Will,” Ianto murmured, looking up at Jack through his eyelashes. “Tell me what you want me to do.”

He drew in a deep breath and closed his eyes. “Suck me,” he whispered, his voice thick with lust and his chest heaving in anticipation. “Please…”

Ianto flashed him a smile and obligingly lowered his head once more, allowing the head of Jack’s cock to slide past his lips. Jack groaned and tightened his grip on Ianto’s hair. The other man’s hands gripped his hips tightly to ensure Jack’s remained in place and didn’t choke him.

He swirled his tongue around the head, before lowering his head even further and taking more of Jack in his mouth. The other man was big – always had been – but Ianto had always been able to get almost all of him in his mouth. That was one of the many things Jack loved about the wonderful man whose mouth was currently on his cock; he had never ceased to amaze him from day one.

Sliding one hand up Jack’s thigh, Ianto cupped his lover’s balls, rolling them between his fingers as his mouth continued working his cock.

Jack was panting already and Ianto knew it wouldn’t be long until he came undone. The one thing Jack had always loved was people giving him blowjobs, and he rarely lasted long when on the receiving end of one.

Carefully, almost too carefully for Jack to notice, Ianto slipped his other hand around, brushing his index finger across his lover’s entrance.

Jack gasped in surprise and jerked his hips forward, almost choking Ianto. The other man pulled away a little, stopping himself from gagging at the sudden presence of even more of Jack’s cock, before resuming his sucking with gusto.

Slowly so as not to hurt Jack, Ianto worked his finger inside his lover, finding little resistance even though he hadn’t prepared him at all.

Jack gasped and clutched Ianto’s hair tighter, drawing his legs up and wrapping them around the other man’s back, almost trapping him between his thighs. 

“Ianto…” He tried to tell his lover that he was about to come; but Ianto either couldn’t tell, or didn’t care because he simply sucked harder, roughly dragging Jack’s orgasm from him.

The Captain cried out in pleasure, arching his back, trying to both thrust up and press back against Ianto’s hand as he came, pulsing his essence down Ianto’s throat.

Ianto didn’t release Jack’s cock until he was sure every last drop had been milked from his body and every splatter had been cleared up.

He detangled himself from Jack’s legs and moved up his body, stopping when their faces were level once more. 

“I want you inside me,” Jack whispered, flashing a sated smile at Ianto before kissing him thoroughly. The taste of himself on Ianto’s tongue made his cock twitch again, even though it had been completely exhausted only moments before.

Ianto groaned against his lips, his own arousal – gone previously unattended – pressed hard and painfully against the zipper of his jeans.

In record time he was naked and leant down, pressing his body against Jack’s from head to toe. Groaning at the contact, Jack reached up and kissed Ianto deeply.

A tube of lube was pressed into Jack’s hands and Ianto leant up. “Prepare yourself,” he instructed, sitting up and moving to the end of the bed.

Jack moaned and took a deep breath to steady his heart rate before spreading his legs, placing his feet flat on the mattress and flipping the cap off the end of the tube.

Ianto watched as he smeared some lube onto his fingers, coating them thoroughly before sliding his hand around. When Jack brushed a finger across his entrance, both of them drew in shaky breaths and he pushed inside, breaching his body carefully.

The younger man’s eyes met Jack’s and together they moaned at the intimacy as Jack twisted his finger, sliding another inside. He twisted this way and that, trying to stretch himself as much as possible – as quickly as possible – before adding a third digit to the mix.

When Ianto was positive he was going to burst, he placed a hand over Jack’s and growled, “Enough.”

Jack nodded his head, understanding Ianto’s need and smoothing the remaining lube over his lover’s aching cock. 

Ianto almost screamed with pleasure at the feel of Jack’s hand on his previously unattended cock and it took all his self-control to push him away and not let Jack toss him off right there; he wanted to be inside Jack when he came.

Placing a hand on either side of Jack’s body - bracing himself and providing leverage - Ianto positioned himself at the entrance to his lover’s body.

He captured Jack’s lips in a fiery kiss as he pushed inside in one fluid motion, not stopping until he was completely sheathed – ball’s deep - inside Jack’s body.

Jack moaned loudly and Ianto kissed him harder, swallowing his moans as he began moving. Their arousals were rising – Jack’s cock now harder than it had been previously – and both knew it wouldn’t be long before they reached their peaks.

Reaching between their bodies, Ianto grasped Jack’s cock in his gun calloused hand. Pumping him in quick strokes, Ianto changed the angle of his hips, to allow his cock to push against Jack’s prostate.

Jack whimpered with pleasure, holding Ianto’s hips painfully as he pounded into his body.

“God, Ianto…” he groaned, clenching his arse cheeks and tightening his inner muscles around Ianto’s cock. “Please… Need to feel you… Need to…”

Ianto kissed him hard, a clash of tongues and teeth as his thrusts grew more erratic, pleasure almost drowning him. “Come with me,” he whispered, his breath brushing over Jack’s lips.

Several more thrusts and strokes were all it took to make Jack come for the second time that evening. The older Time Agent’s muscles clamping around him, made Ianto groan louder and thrust in just that little bit harder.

He arched his back, shouting, “Will!” as he followed his lover over the edge, coming deep inside his body.

TBC


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 25

Jack had always hated the weather. It seemed such a trivial thing to hate; especially when there wasn’t any one person in control of rain, sun, sleet or showers.

But on one of the hardest days of his life – both mortal and immortal – Jack found himself cursing every being he could think of.

The weather was supposed to be overcast and cloudy - miserable to reflect their moods. Instead, the sun was shining down bright upon them – warm, even though it was November.

Ianto looked sadly down at the gravestone before them. Despite Torchwood’s policy, Gwen was buried properly. Instead of being frozen in the morgue for the rest of time, Jack had sworn they would lay her body to rest properly – just as he had done with Tosh, and would have with Owen if they had found his body. 

Jack glanced away from the memorial stone bearing Gwen’s name and looked over at Rory. He was holding Dominic in his arms, staring blankly at the grave. His face was almost completely devoid of emotion. 

The only word Jack could think of to describe how Rory appeared to be feeling was numb. He looked as shell shocked as the people Jack had seen in the trenches during World Wars I and II.

Silently, Jack released Ianto’s hand and made his way over to the young man standing with his brother. 

“She would be glad she got to know you,” he whispered, stepping up to Rory.

Rory nodded his head, not speaking as he continued memorising every detail of Gwen’s grave. He knew he wouldn’t need to; it was a sight he would be visiting often when he returned home – if he got home.

Jack, not knowing what else he could say, wrapped an arm around Rory’s shoulders, pulling him closer. He knew he hadn’t been a particularly nice person to Rory since his arrival and he had been an even worse father.

Looking down at Gwen’s grave, Jack swore to her that he would be the best father he could be to both Dominic and Rory, and when their youngest child was born he would never doubt how much his parents cared for him.

TBC


	29. Chapter 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a flash forward.

Chapter 26

_Jack looked at the person opposite him, who was looking back at him with an equal look of surprise and disbelief._

_“Would you mind running that past me again?”_

_The Captain rolled his blue eyes, feeling weariness beginning to set in. “I know where Rory is.”_

_The young man raised an eyebrow. “And that would be?”_

_“Cardiff, 2008.”_

_He spluttered in surprise. “2008?” he repeated. “How do you know that?”_

_Jack sighed heavily, “Because he’s in the Hub.”_

_“You met him? Before he’d been born?” the man asked in confusion._

_Jack nodded his head and held his hand out to Ianto. The younger Time Agent huffed in annoyance and unfastened his Vortex Manipulator. “I don’t know why you can’t think of any other way to get him back,” he muttered, slamming the wristband into Jack’s palm._

_The Captain rolled his eyes, unfastening his own. “He’ll need one to use himself and one to give Rory. He can’t rely on the Rift Manipulator to bring him back to the correct moment.”_

_“What am I supposed to do when I get there?” the man demanded, interrupting the couple._

_Ianto hesitated before sighing, knowing that he had to tell him at least a little bit about past events. “When you arrive, we’ll be getting attacked. You’ll need to stop it, otherwise Rory won’t exist and you won’t have a family to come back to.”_

_Small hands tugged at Jack’s trouser leg and he looked down to see his granddaughter standing beside him, looking up at him with big, watery brown eyes. “What’s wrong, sweetie?” he asked, picking her up and sitting her on the desk._

_“Where’s papa?” she questioned quietly._

TBC


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 27

Andy looked awful, Ianto noted. Unlike Jack, however, he had tact and didn’t voice his opinions.

Almost three months had passed since Gwen’s death, and the police officer still didn’t look like he had dealt with her passing. He was pale, unkempt and exhausted. Everyone knew – or at least suspected – that Gwen’s former partner had been harbouring feelings for her, since long before she had joined Torchwood. 

Jack had lost count of how many times he had been in bed when they had gotten a call from the local police force. Apparently, Andy liked to cause trouble when he went out, under the influence of course, and had taken to shouting off about Torchwood.

After the first time it had happened, the police had decided to call said organisation. They were the ones Andy was talking about, so they could fix him.

Usually when this happened, Jack and Ianto were the ones that were forced to remove him from the dives Andy drank in.

Andy always became apologetic once he realised he was being kicked out. But the couple still bundled him into a taxi and shipped him home.

That night was one of those occasions where the entire team had been on a Weevil hunt when Jack got the phone call to reel Andy back in. The Captain had sighed, muttering about how he was going to lose his job if he wasn’t careful, and turned the SUV in the direction of the pub Andy was wreaking havoc in.

After ensuring Andy was on his way home for the night, they headed back to the Hub. Mickey dropped the team off on the Plass, before driving the SUV around to the garage.

As they headed over to the lift, Rory glanced over his shoulder as they reached the Plass, suddenly getting an uneasy feeling of being watched.

“Dad…” he called, jogging up to Jack and falling into stride next to him.

Jack started a little in surprise – it was still a strange thing to hear; he was still ‘daddy’ to Dominic. “What’s wrong?” he asked in concern.

The young man hesitated, not wanting to seem as if he was paranoid. But Ianto urged him to continue. “I think we’re… I’m being watched.”

“You are,” a female voice spoke from the shadows by the Millennium Centre.

TBC


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 28

They all turned around in surprise, each member withdrawing their guns. “Don’t shoot,” Jack instructed, even though he too had his Webley out. “She’ll just regenerate and run away.”

The Mahreiser laughed and nodded her head, her own gun firmly trained on Rory. “Good advice, Captain,” she replied, her voice scratchy and raw. 

Jack’s eyes narrowed in hatred as he studied the creature that had taken a member of his team away from him. “Don’t shoot, yet,” he corrected himself, shifting the aim of his Webley ever so slightly.

“Give me the necklace and no one else needs to get hurt,” she instructed, looking over at Rory with black eyes.

The young man snorted and shook his head. “Even if I still had it, I wouldn’t give it to you.”

The Mahreiser cocked the hammer back and took aim, pointing the gun at Rory. “If you don’t have it, you’re not needed anymore,” she informed him, the index finger on her right hand about to pull the trigger.

“I have the necklace,” Jack interrupted, diverting the alien’s attention – and aim - over to him. If he got shot it wouldn’t matter. He wasn’t about to let the bitch shoot his youngest son after Gwen had died to protect him.

“You’re a liar,” she spat, saliva flying of her mouth as she enunciated her words.

Jack shook his head, lowering his gun a little, relying on the rest of the team to back him up. “I’m many things, but a liar isn’t one of them. The necklace is in my possession. Locked away to stop people like you from using it.”

“Give me the necklace or you all die.”

Ianto looked around at the team, “There are four of us and only one of you. Out of the five of us, you’re the most likely to die.”

She rolled her eyes, smirking cockily, “You may not be a liar,” she said to Jack, “but he is. You don’t know how to kill me for good. You can kill me all you like; I’ll just keep regenerating and coming back, time after time. Each time I’ll look different and it’ll be harder and harder for you to find me again.”

Suddenly the air around them shifted and a blue portal appeared a few feet away. A young man materialised right in front of their eyes, a stranger to Jack and Ianto, but painfully familiar to Rory.

The Mahreiser, seeing her opportunity in their distraction, raised the gun it was holding and squeezed the trigger, firing a bullet directly at Jack.

The newcomer saw the action before any of the rest of them heard the gun shot and he jumped in front of Jack, taking the bullet for the Captain.

Ianto immediately retaliated by shooting her in the head. He helped Martha tie the alien up as it morphed into its new form – giving them enough time to figure out what to do with her - before turning his attention back to the stranger.

He had fallen to the floor, bleeding out over the Plass from the gunshot wound to his chest; it wouldn’t be long before he died, they all knew that. There was nothing any of them could do – he had already lost too much blood.

“No…” Rory sobbed, falling to his knees next to the other man. “You can’t… Not now… Please… Don’t…”

The dying man flashed him a weak smile, “Sorry,” he whispered, before his eyes flickered closed and his head fell back.

“No!” Rory cried, shaking his shoulders in a vain effort to rouse him. “Don’t!”

Jack placed his hands on his son’s shoulders. “He’s gone, kid,” he whispered regretfully – although he didn’t know who this was, it was obvious to all of them, Rory knew him.

“No, he’s not,” Rory snapped angrily, getting his feet and taking a step back, roughly brushing tears from his cheeks. “He’ll be okay.”

Ianto and Jack exchanged concerned looks. “Rory,” Ianto began softly, “he got shot. He’s… He’s dead.”

Almost before the words were out of his mouth, Martha screamed in surprise. All three of them turned to face her in concern. She was standing there, open mouthed and pointing at the young man.

Slowly they looked over at where was pointing and gasped in surprise when they saw that the newcomer was glowing gold. 

Jack immediately knew what was happening. He had seen it before. When the Doctor had been exterminated by that Dalek he had destroyed. Whoever he was, this newcomer was regenerating.

TBC


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 29

They all stared in disbelief as the stranger continued glowing golden, before flopping back against the cold ground below him.

Quickly, Rory jumped forward and pressed two fingers against his neck, feeling for a pulse. For a long time he couldn’t find it, until he let out a sigh of relief when he felt it underneath his fingertips. It was weak, but it was there and that was the most important thing.

“Good job it’s night,” Ianto commented, looking around the empty Plass. “This would have needed a truck load of Retcon.”

“Who the Hell is that?” Jack demanded of Rory, pointing down at the unconscious Time Lord.

“Someone who shouldn’t be here,” Rory replied, worrying his lower lip with his teeth. “We need to get her inside,” he changed the subject, nodding over to the Mahreiser.

“Answer my question!” Jack snapped, grabbing his son’s arm and shaking him.

“Jack,” Ianto interrupted warning, placing his hand on his lover’s arm. “Leave it for now,” he instructed.

Rory wrenched his arm out of Jack’s grip and turned to Martha and Ianto. “You guys get her into the cells, maybe we can figure out a way to kill her for good. I’ll deal with him,” he nodded down at the newcomer who was still glowing a little, his mind reeling.

Jack scowled deeply, not wanting to leave Rory alone with someone who fell through time, and who was clearly a Time Lord. But Ianto looked at him meaningfully and he reluctantly nodded his head.

“We’ll take the lift,” Martha suggested as her and Ianto gathered the alien up between them.

Jack threw one more look at Rory before following the rest of his team towards the water tower and the invisible lift.

It took effort to get the creature onto the lift and across the Hub. Jack grabbed hold of one leg, while Martha grabbed the other and together they made their way down to the cells.

~

Rory sighed and pulled the other man upright. Unconscious he seemed to weigh ten times more than he usually did. He wrapped his arm around the other’s waist and slowly manoeuvred them over to the water tower.

Just as they reached it, the lift returned to its place once more, ready for them to step on to it.

The other man’s unconscious form nearly slid out of his grasp, and to the ground below, and Rory tightened his grip, holding him firmly until they reached the bottom.

Once they were fully inside the Hub, Rory steered them in the direction of the tatty couch underneath the ‘TORCHWOOD’ sign painted on the wall. It wasn’t much – or comfortable – but it would do for now.

Quickly he ducked into Jack’s office, running a cold cloth under water over the small sink in the tiny bathroom attached to the office, before returning to the main area.

Rory pressed the cold cloth against the other man’s clammy skin. “I liked you blond,” he pouted, flicking a strand of black hair away from his forehead.

The man shifted, finally regaining consciousness now his body was finished changing, and he blinked, slowly opening his eyes – now brown instead of the green they had been - wincing at the brightness of the Hub. “I don’t have a choice, you know?” he croaked, frowning when he felt how dry his throat was.

Rory held the bottle of water he had also grabbed from Jack’s office against the other man’s lips, letting him get hydrated once more. In silence, he put the bottle down and studied the changes in his appearance. 

“I’m not ginger am I?” Rory rolled his eyes and shook his head, choking back a laugh. “Good. I don’t want to be ginger,” he muttered.

Rory didn’t answer and the dark haired man looked up into his blue eyes. “Hey,” he whispered, seeing the unshed tears behind the expressive eyes. “I’m okay. I’m still me; I just look a little different.”

Rory nodded his head mutely, blinking away tears he knew were unnecessary. “I know,” he murmured, cupping the other man’s cheek. “It’s just… God, Felix,” he breathed, “I didn’t think watching you regenerate would hurt so much.”

Felix smirked and pushed himself upright, so he was leaning against the arm of the couch. “Regenerating isn’t much fun either,” he tried to joke, but seeing the anguished look on Rory’s face made him realise he hadn’t succeeded.

“Seriously, Rory,” he whispered, placing his hand on Rory’s thigh in a comforting way. “I’m okay. It’s not a big deal.”

He took one of Rory’s hands in his own and pressed it against his chest. “See?” he asked, moving their hands over a little. “I’ve still got two hearts and they’re both still beating.”

Rory nodded mutely and Felix captured his lips in a gentle kiss. “Seriously,” he instructed again. “Stop worrying.” A devilish grin appeared on his face, “My face isn’t the only thing that’s changed.” He waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

The other man finally laughed and punched his lover lightly on the arm. “This is not the time or the place to be having that discussion, Fe,” he admonished, jerking his head back toward Jack’s office.

Felix’s eyes flickered across the Hub before he turned back to Rory. “Is he okay?” he asked. “He didn’t get shot did he?”

Rory shook his head, “No, he’s fine. Why did you waste a regeneration on him? You know he’s immortal; they both are. Getting shot wouldn’t have mattered.” 

Slowly he slid a silver band off of Felix’s finger and slipped it into his pocket until he put it with his own for safekeeping.

“Yes it would have,” Felix argued. “He can’t die, Rory. He’s pregnant.”

TBC


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter 30

The rest of the team returned to the Hub, Jack in front, wanting to know who the newcomer was and what the Hell was going on.

They arrived in the middle of Rory and the stranger’s conversation. None of them interrupted them until they heard the stranger ask if Jack had been shot and Rory assuring him he hadn’t.

“Getting shot wouldn’t have mattered,” Rory insisted.

“Yes, it would have. He can’t die, Rory. He’s pregnant.”

Jack couldn’t stay silent at that and he blurted out, “I’m WHAT?”

Rory’s head snapped up in surprise and his mouth opened and closed repeatedly as he tried to think of an answer. “Stop doing that,” Ianto admonished. “You look like a goldfish.”

“How long have you been standing there?” Rory eventually asked.

“Oh no you don’t,” Jack shook his head at his son. “We get to ask the questions.”

He turned to the stranger and demanded, “Who the Hell are you?”

The younger man pushed himself into an upright position, leaning back against the side of the couch. “Felix Ryman,” he introduced himself. “Sorry to drop in like this.”

“You regenerated,” Jack stated.

Felix nodded his head, “I did. No, I’m not the Doctor,” he assured the team, “not even close. Well… maybe close. My mother, Jenny, is his daughter.”

“Daughter?” Ianto replied in surprise, Jack had never mentioned the ancient Time Lord having a child. Although, judging by the look on his face, Jack was as surprised as the rest of them.

“Please don’t ask me the details, because I don’t know them. Just know that I am a Time Lord – well, part Time Lord – my father was human… Well, mostly. He lived on a planet not too far from here actually, wonderful little place. They had the best…”

“Fe!” Rory cried suddenly, stopping him mid-sentence. “You’re doing it again.”

“Oh,” Felix murmured. “Sorry.”

Rory rolled his eyes and turned to Jack and Ianto, looking at them with wide blue eyes. “Please,” he begged. “Trust me. Felix isn’t here to hurt us.”

Jack studied him silently and looked at Felix. “Am I really pregnant?”

Felix winced – clearly he hadn’t meant for Jack to hear him – and nodded his head.

“So you saved Rory’s life at the risk of yours.”

He tried to shrug his shoulders nonchalantly, “Well, you know… I kinda had to. Future time lines and all.”

Ianto grabbed hold of Jack’s wrist and pulled him to the side, “He’s wearing your Vortex Manipulator,” he hissed under his breath.

Jack’s eyes turned back to Felix. Sure enough, strapped around the Time Lord’s wrist was Jack’s wristband, which was weird all on its own, since he was currently wearing it.

“Where did you get that from?” he demanded, interrupting Rory and Felix’s conversation, and pointing at the wristband.

Felix started in surprise and looked confused until he realised what Jack was talking about.

“You gave it to me,” he told them, pulling Ianto’s out of his pocket. “And you gave me this one, as well.”

TBC


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter 31

They all stared at Felix in surprise. He had just produced not one, but two Vortex Manipulators. Giving them a way of getting to the future without being stuck there.

“You can go home now,” Jack almost whispered, averting his eyes to the ground. Over the past few months, he had become so used to having adult Rory around that it was going to be strange without him.

Silence fell over the rest of the team as they also realised they wouldn’t be seeing the younger man for quite a while.

Rory was the first person to break the silence, “No I can’t,” he argued.

Ianto blinked in surprise, “Why?”

“Because I swore I’d avenge Gwen’s death,” he stated. “We’ve finally caught her killer. I’m not going to let her get away with it.”

Jack felt his heart swell with pride at Rory’s words. A quick glance over at Ianto told him that his younger lover was feeling the same thing he was. 

“Looks like you’re coming home with us as well, Felix,” Martha smiled at the newcomer.

“I don’t have to,” Felix replied. “I wasn’t planning on… I can stay here…”

Martha shook her head, “You’re coming with us,” she insisted. “Another house guest won’t make a difference. You’ll have to share a bed with Rory though,” she added, a smirk flitting across her face. “But I don’t think that’s going to be too much of a problem.” She nodded to their hands, which were still joined on Felix’s lap.

Felix flashed her a grin and thanked her gratefully, not wanting to spend time away from Rory now he had found him again.

~

Tom had been surprised at discovering they had acquired another lodger, but after being quietly informed about Rory’s true identity and seeing how close he and Felix were, the doctor quickly warmed up to Felix’s presence.

Martha and Tom had retired to bed shortly after setting the young couple up for the night. The couch folded out into a double bed, not big by anyone’s standards, but big enough for Felix and Rory to fit comfortably.

Felix watched from the bed as Rory moved around the living room, changing into the pyjamas Martha had bought for them. He leant up on one elbow when Rory slipped the silver ring he had taken off of Felix into his wallet.

“Why did you take that off me?” he asked, yawning and flopping back on the pillow.

Rory snorted with laughter and shook his head. “I’m not having my parents knowing we’re married before I’ve even been born, thank you,” he muttered. 

He flicked the light off, leaving just the small side table lamp on and climbed into bed next to his partner.

Rory sighed happily and leant back against Felix’s chest. The Time Lord’s arms immediately wrapped around him tightly, almost painfully tight; Rory got the impression that Felix was trying to stop him from leaving again.

Felix took one of Rory’s hands in his own, running his fingers over the back. “How’s your head?” he whispered, kissing Rory’s dark hair.

The older man shrugged a little. “It still hurts,” he replied honestly. Felix was the only person that knew how bad the pain got at times – he hadn’t told anyone else for fear of being labelled a freak. “It’s been bad a few times, but not as painful as it gets back home, though. Maybe it’s something to do with me not being born yet?” he suggested.

Felix hummed in response, tightening his grip on Rory. Neither of them could explain what was wrong with Rory and why he felt like he did. 

“Is Cali okay?” Rory eventually asked, keeping his voice low so Martha and Tom wouldn’t hear. It wouldn’t be good for them to learn about the couple’s daughter so far before her birth.

Felix nodded his head, pressing his lips against Rory’s neck. “She’s with your dads,” he assured his partner. “She was missing you,” he added.

Rory turned over in Felix’s arms so he was facing the other man. “I’ve missed her as well,” he replied, cupping his cheek in the semi-darkness. “And I missed you… So much,” he added, kissing Felix passionately.

The young Time Lord groaned into Rory’s mouth, too many weeks of being alone catching up on him as lust flooded his senses. Felix slid his hands down Rory’s back, cupping his arse and dragging him closer, grinding against him.

Rory gasped as bolts of pleasure shot through his body. “Felix…” he whispered, tipping his head back as he tried to catch his breath.

Felix took this as an invitation to start kissing and nibbling his partner’s neck. “Rory,” he eventually spoke, pulling back enough to look into the older man’s eyes. “You’ve been missing for almost three weeks. Do you have any idea what that can do to a man’s sex drive?”

Rory raised an eyebrow before shaking his head in resignation. “You have to keep quiet,” he instructed. “If you wake them,” he nodded to Martha and Tom’s bedroom, “I’ll use up the rest of your regenerations myself.”

Felix chuckled and nodded his head, tapping his fingers against his temple, before moaning quietly when Rory’s hands slipped under the waistband of the pyjamas Martha had bought them after a quick shopping trip earlier that day.

Rory pushed the pyjamas down and roughly pulled them off. He smirked at Felix in the dim light before disappearing down under the covers.

He pressed soft kisses against Felix’s skin, noticing that this incarnation was more tanned than Felix’s previous form. His cock was bigger as well, Rory noted as he sucked the head into his mouth, lapping up the pre-come with his tongue. Not much bigger, but his size had definitely increased.

Felix tipped his head back, biting the inside of his cheek to stop himself from moaning too loud. He knew that if he did, Rory would stop completely; he had done that on more than one occasion in the past.

Rory relaxed his throat, taking more of Felix into his mouth, sucking him eagerly. Everything about how Felix felt was so different, yet in some bizarre way he felt – and tasted – exactly the same.

When Rory brushed his index finger over Felix’s entrance, the young Time Lord groaned low and tightened his grip on his partner’s hair. He pushed his hips forwards, trying to push more of himself into Rory’s mouth.

Rory slowly worked the digit inside Felix, twisting his way and that until it was buried right up to his knuckle. Felix gasped when he felt the tip of his lover’s finger brush against the spot that made him see stars.

“Rory!” Felix panted, canting his hips forward and arching his back as he spilt his seed down Rory’s throat.

The other man smirked and greedily swallowed everything Felix gave him. He lapped his flaccid cock clean before allowing it to fall from his mouth with a pop.

Slowly he kissed his way up Felix’s chest, nuzzling his cheek before kissing him deeply – knowing how much the taste of himself on Rory’s tongue turned Felix on.

“God, I’ve missed you,” Felix breathed, running his hands through Rory’s hair and kissing him back passionately.

Rory smirked and tugged Felix’s lower lip with his teeth. “I haven’t even finished with you yet,” he purred.

~

Martha leant up in bed, resting against the headboard. She couldn’t sleep. All she could think about was the creature locked up in the cells back at the Hub and how unlikely it was they would figure out a way to kill it.

Tom was sleeping soundly beside her, while Felix and Rory were out in the living room. She was considering getting a midnight snack when she decided against it, telling herself disturbing the couple after the events of the day wasn’t fair.

Reaching over, she grabbed the remote control and flicked on the LCD screen that was mounted on the wall. She had sworn blind that the other doctor would never put the television in their bedroom.

A year later, it had been mounted on the wall and proven useful when she had a rare day off and didn’t want to move. She reached over and flicked on the television, not really watching, just flicking through the channels with the volume so low she could barely hear it; Tom had just switched back from the night to day shifts at work, he needed all the sleep he could get.

As she lay there, watching something and nothing, her mind began to wander back to Rory and Felix; or rather, just Felix. He was the Doctor’s grandson. Leaning back against the pillows, she wondered if the older Time Lord knew. Part of her wanted to tell him, but the rest of her knew she couldn’t. Felix probably hadn’t even been born yet, telling the Doctor would probably screw up sometime somewhere.

Thoughts of Felix, quickly led to thoughts of Jen and she wondered how the young woman could have had a child when she was created, fully formed and died a few hours later.

Turning on her side, Martha reasoned that she probably hadn’t died like they all thought. She must have regenerated – or something – and found a way out of there.

If only her Hath friend had found a way out of drowning, she found herself thinking as her eyes began to drift closed.

TBC


	35. Chapter 35

Chapter 32

Michelle McCormick – the alias the Mahreiser was using in this realm – was cold. Freezing cold. The skinny fit top and tight jeans she was wearing were doing little to allow her to keep her body heat.

The temperature in the cells had to be below zero. If she concentrated hard, she was positive she could see her breath condensing in the air around her.

Heavy footsteps sounded on the ladder and she knew instinctively it was their leader, the one who called himself ‘Captain’. He always walked with heavier footsteps that the rest, always feeling the need to announce his presence without using words.

“Let me go,” she instructed as he came to a stop outside the cell. She noted he was wearing the long coat; presumably to keep the chill of the cells out.

Jack snorted and rolled his blue eyes. “You’re not getting out of here,” he retorted.

The Mahreiser moved closer to the glass – scorched from her attempts at burning through it – and smelt the air through the small holes. There was something about this man that was different from the other humans.

“You’re with child,” she announced, finally realising what was different about him.

Jack stepped forward, placing the palms of his hands on the glass. He leant close and when he spoke, even though his voice was low, she could hear every word and the venom in his voice was evident.

“Yes, I am,” he agreed. “And you just threatened that child.” Her eyes went wide in realisation. “That’s right. That woman you killed saved my son. His safety cost her, her life. I’m going to make sure it costs you yours as well.”

~

“What’s the temperature in the cells?” Jack asked when he returned to the Hub, pressing his hands on Ianto’s shoulders and looking over his shoulder.

“Seven degrees,” Ianto replied, turning his head and looking up at his lover.

“It’ll do for now,” Jack smirked, leaning down and kissing Ianto.

The tenderness in the kiss soon gave way to passion and Ianto found himself pressed against the desk behind him. “Pregnancy’s really given your libido a boost,” Ianto gasped, throwing back his head when Jack ground their hips together.

“Wait ‘til you see what I get like further on,” Jack muttered.

Neither of them noticed the cog door rolling open until they heard Rory’s voice state, “God, I’m going to need therapy.”

They broke apart, gasping for breath, and turned to see Rory, Felix and Martha standing in the entrance to the Hub. Rory was rolling his eyes; Martha was smiling happily and looking away politely, while Felix was grinning in approval.

“Don’t you three have anything better to do?” Jack snapped, his hand never moving from where it was working its way into Ianto’s trousers.

“Don’t you?” Rory countered, sounding so much like Ianto that it made Martha chuckle.

“Apparently not,” Felix muttered, moving over the couch and slumping down on to it with a weary yawn. With his and Rory’s under the cover actions the previous night, they were both feeling a little tired that morning.

Jack sighed and reluctantly moved away from Ianto, but not before kissing him hotly, ignoring Rory’s retching noises. “What are you here this early for?” he asked, stepping away from his lover; it was barely seven in the morning.

“We think we’ve figured out how to kill the Mahreiser,” Martha stated.

TBC


	36. Chapter 36

Chapter 33

It was half an hour later that a grumpy Mickey entered the hub, bleary eyed and still half asleep. “This had better be good,” he muttered, pushing Felix over and slumping down on the couch. He smiled gratefully when Ianto pressed a much-appreciated cup of coffee into his hands.

“It is,” Martha assured him. “At least, I think it is.”

Jack leant back in his chair and studied the doctor. “We were waiting for you,” he told Mickey.

“When I was travelling with the Doctor I met these aliens called the Hath. One particular one saved my life, I nearly drowned.” She purposely didn’t mention meeting Felix’s mother, not sure how receptive he would be to find out that his grandfather thought Jen had died.

“The Hath pulled me out of the pit, but got stuck itself. I couldn’t get it out. I was thinking about it last night and that made me remember…” Martha hesitated and looked at Rory; she wasn’t sure how much Rory knew about how Ianto became immortal.

“When we were chasing a Weevil a while back and it jumped in the bay,” she continued, deciding to get straight to the point.

Mickey nodded his head, remembering the events Martha was talking about. “We didn’t know if they could swim,” he added.

Jack pressed his fingers to his lips, thinking. “I… don’t know if they can either,” he quietly admitted, looking over at Ianto who shrugged his shoulders.

“I was thinking,” Martha continued, getting back on track, “maybe we could drown the Mahreiser.”

Felix leant forward, leaning his elbows on his knees, successfully managing to hide a wince from everyone except Rory, who smirked to himself. “Drown it?” he repeated.

Martha nodded her head, “Drowning is one of people’s greatest fears. If water’s surrounding her, she might just panic so much she forgets she can regenerate…”

“And by the time she realises, it’ll be too late,” Felix finished, a large grin spreading across his face. “It’s perfect.”

“Except,” Ianto interrupted. “We have no way of drowning her. It’s not like we can throw her in the bay. She’ll just swim away.”

The rest of them frowned deeply, clearly none of them had thought about how they would actually carry out Martha’s plan. “And we can’t flood the cells,” Rory added. “The Weevils would die as well.”

Martha smiled at Rory’s concern for the other creatures. She wasn’t sure if that was a Harkness or a Jones trait, but it was clearly inherited from one – or both – of his parents.

“Actually,” Jack spoke quietly from where he had been sitting in silence through Martha’s explanation of her plan, “we can’t flood the cells anyway. There’s no way to get the water in there.”

“So we can’t drown her,” Martha sighed in resignation, slumping down in her seat. 

Ianto reached over and squeezed her shoulder, “It was a good idea,” he assured her.

Suddenly Jack sat upright and grinned. “We can’t flood the cells, but we can…”

TBC


	37. Chapter 37

Chapter 34

“Flood the Hub?” Ianto repeated incredulously. “That’s not possible.”

Jack shook his head, jumping to his feet and bounding over to his office. “Well, technically, not the whole Hub.” The rest of the team watched him disappear inside the room, before returning a short while later with a thick, leather bound book.

“Where did that come from?” Ianto demanded.

“My desk drawer,” Jack replied distractedly, blowing dust away from the cover before opening the book.

It was obvious from the way the pages crackled and tried to stick together, that the book was old – very old – and had been at Torchwood for almost as long as Jack himself.

In silence, Jack turned the pages, looking for something in particular before he turned the book around so they could all see it. It was a Victorian era drawing of, what looked like a submarine base. On closer inspection they recognised it to be a drawing of the Hub.

“Dad?” Rory asked, his forehead crumpling in confusion as he looked at Jack.

“Before 2005 that was what the Hub looked like,” Jack explained, stabbing the picture with his index finger. “I drew that my during my second year working for Torchwood.”

“2005?” Ianto echoed. “That was the year they had a big earthquake here, wasn’t it?”

Jack nodded his head, “Technically. It wasn’t actually an earthquake. The Rift opened.”

“The Rift?”

“The Slitheen,” Mickey breathed knowingly, remembering the events Jack was referring to; it seemed like so long ago, he had almost completely forgotten. 

The rest of them scowled in confusion and Jack continued, “An alien race that tried to use the Rift to get off of Earth.”

“But that would destroy it,” Martha injected.

Jack nodded again, “It almost did, but the TARDIS closed it. That’s how the lift was created.”

“You said you didn’t know how that happened,” Ianto accused, glaring at his partner with his hands on his hips.

Jack shrugged nonchalantly, “I lied,” he replied.

“What has this got to do with how the Hub changed?” Rory asked.

The Captain turned his attention to his son, “If the Rift is opened, the first place that suffers is this place. The power of the Rift being opened almost split this place in half.”

He looked over at Mickey, “The me you met was mortal,” he informed the other man. “When I became immortal I went back to 1869 and I’ve had to live here since then. Obviously, I knew the Rift was going to open in 2005 so we all went away from Cardiff, under the pretence of a case. Me, Tosh, Suzie and Owen.”

“There were two of you then?” Mickey asked in surprise.

“Yeah. That’s why I had to get the team out of Cardiff. I couldn’t afford to have them run into the past version of myself.”

“The Rift cracked the foundation of the Hub,” Jack continued. “All this water,” he pointed back to the drawing, “slowly filtered down the spillway into the bay, leaving this place looking like it does now.”

“We have a spillway?” Ianto repeated curiously.

TBC


	38. Chapter 38

Chapter 35

“Careful,” Jack advised as they made their way down the corridor none of them had known existed.

“How did you keep this secret?” Ianto asked, looking around him at the high ceilings.

They were in what appeared to be a long tunnel and had been walking for miles. The walls were covered with moss and Ianto was sure something else was living in them. 

“I built those doors to keep people out,” Jack replied, nodding over his shoulder to the large metal doors behind him. “And to keep the Hub secure.”

His gaze travelled over to the large wall they were approaching. “I was never very trusting of this wall. That’s a solid door. Nothing can get past it. It’s sealed completely.”

Rory turned his back to the wall and looked down the long corridor at the aforementioned doors. “We could bring the Mahreiser down here, secure her and flood this.”

Silence fell over them as they contemplated the idea. “How are we going to know if it worked?” Ianto asked quietly, studying the large wall, which had a large seal down the centre, securely keeping the water out.

“Torchwood built a failsafe,” Jack explained. “If the water is trapped in here for longer than three hours, there are slats in the floor that open.”

He stomped his foot on the floor beneath him. It creaked and Ianto realised there were sections of the floor that sounded hollow. 

“There are secondary tunnels beneath us that drain the water back out into the bay.”

Rory grinned widely. “That’s brilliant; we can put the Mahreiser in here, flood it and drown her. Hopefully, it’ll work.”

Ianto bit his lip in thought, thinking about their rapidly developing plan. “How does this,” he nodded to the barrier, “open.”

Jack tapped his Vortex Manipulator. “I can activate it using this,” he advised them. “So? Are we doing this, or not?”

TBC


	39. Chapter 39

Chapter 36

As Ianto, Martha, Rory and Mickey left the tunnel – Martha to mix up a sedative powerful enough to knock the alien out, the others to do… something, Jack had no idea what, Felix grabbed hold of Jack’s arm, stopping the Captain from walking away.

Jack scowled and tore his arm away from Felix’s grip. “What?” he demanded, glaring at the man who was quite possibly his son-in-law.

“Where’s that necklace you took from Rory?” Felix asked quietly, looking into Jack’s eyes.

The older man stared at Felix, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. He should have known the other man was up to something. 

Sensing Jack’s instant distrust, Felix rolled his eyes, dropping his hand to the side. “I don’t want it back now,” he assured him, “and I don’t want it for me. But you have to keep it safe.”

“It is safe,” Jack nodded. “It’s in the secure archives. Why?”

“Good,” Felix breathed a sigh of relief. “You have to keep it there for the next…” he paused while he calculated, “thirty years, give or take.”

“Thirty years?”

Felix nodded, “You need to give it to me in time for me to give it to Rory. It was a present, Christmas 2039.”

“You were the friend that gave it to him?” Jack asked in surprise; for some reason he had never made the connection between Rory being given the necklace and his relationship with Felix.

“Friend?” Felix raised an eyebrow. “I haven’t been called his ‘friend’ for a long time. But yeah, you gave it to me and I gave it to him to protect him.”

Their eyes met and slowly Felix spoke, “You never told me why Rory had to have it. Only what it did and that it might come in useful one day.”

Jack nodded his head, understanding what Felix was implying. He wasn’t to say a word to them about what would happen.

“I understand,” he assured the young Time Lord.

TBC


	40. Chapter 40

Chapter 37

The sedative was mixed, but would take twenty four hours before it was ready to be used, so the team quickly relaxed back into their normal working patterns, reluctantly completing the paperwork they had been putting off for some time.

Around midnight, Ianto looked up and frowned when he realised the time. He had been so engrossed in the paperwork that he hadn’t realised how long he had been bent over writing. 

Flexing his neck and groaning at the stiffness and pain he felt, Ianto got to his feet and made his way over to Jack’s office to find that it was empty.

“Have you seen your dad?” he asked Rory, frowning as he tried to remember if he had seen Jack go past.

Rory shook his head, frowning a little. “I thought he was still in his office.”

Ianto tapped the keyboard, bringing the heat signatures up for the Hub. After doing a quick count, he came to the conclusion that everyone was present and accounted for – except Jack.

“Maybe he went for some fresh air?” Rory suggested, feeling worrying swell inside him.

The Time Agent nodded his head, “Probably,” he agreed. “I’m going to go have a look.”

He squeezed Rory’s shoulder reassuringly as he passed and made his way through the cog door.

The wind was picking up as he left the tourist office and he shivered, pulling his jacket around him; wishing he had grabbed his overcoat before he left.

Across the way, he could see the carousel near the Norwegian church lit up. Ianto frowned and made his way down the jetty towards the carousel. There was no way it should be running at this time on a night.

He smiled to himself when he approached the fairground ride and recognised the sole figure sitting side-saddle on a pink horse.

“I’m sure this is trespassing,” Ianto commented, carefully hopping onto the slowly moving carousel.

Jack looked up in surprise and smiled sheepishly. “The bottle of Retcon pills in my pocket says it isn’t,” he replied. 

Ianto laughed and made his way over to his partner, running his hand through Jack’s hair. “We were worried. Wondered where you’d got to,” he whispered.

The Captain’s cheeks turned an adorable shade of red and he ducked his head bashfully. “Sorry,” he murmured. “I just… needed some fresh air. It’s all…” He trailed off, searching for the right word.

“Overwhelming?” Ianto suggested, leaning against the horse Jack was sitting on.

“Yeah,” Jack breathed. “It’s been three months,” he reminded Ianto.

The younger man drew in a sharp breath, realising the implication behind Jack’s words. The last time Jack had been pregnant, he had realised three months into the nine-month period; there was bound to be a storm of emotions brewing in his mind.

“Oh, Will…” he whispered, pulling the other man off the horse and hugging him tightly. “Things are going to be different this time. You know that. You’ve seen Rory.”

Jack nodded his head. “I know,” he replied softly. “It’s just… Being pregnant now after so long… It’s wonderful and I’m ecstatic, but remembering Megan makes me wish she could have known Dominic and Rory.”

“Will…”

“I know it’s not possible. If she’d been born, she would live in the fifty-first century, and I never would have left. But I still…”

Ianto placed a finger over Jack’s lip, silencing the other man’s rambling. “I was going to say that she would love her baby brothers,” he informed him, kissing him gently.

Carefully, Ianto reached out a hand, pressing his palm against Jack’s stomach. He grinned when he felt warmth flood from the other man. That was Rory. The baby they thought they weren’t going to have.

TBC


	41. Chapter 41

Chapter 38

Jack looked up after spending almost an hour leaning against Ianto, and smiled thankfully. “Thank you,” he whispered, kissing Ianto passionately. “I love you.”

Ianto grinned brightly and held him tight, “I love you too, Will,” he replied honestly. “Is Megan the only reason why you vanished on us?”

Jack shook his head, leaning against his lover’s shoulder again, “I was scared. Not because of what happened in the past. But, scared that I’m going to do something stupid and endanger Rory’s life.”

The younger Time Agent placed a hand under Jack’s chin and tilted his head back so he could look into those gorgeous blue eyes he loved so much. “That won’t happen,” he assured the worrying Captain. “You’ve seen Rory. He survives to make it back here to help us with the Mahreiser.”

Jack smiled and leant further into Ianto’s embrace. “I know,” he muttered. “Doesn’t mean I’m not scared though. We’re immortal, he isn’t. Apparently it’s not genetic.”

“I’m glad it isn’t,” Ianto stated. “As much as I don’t want to lose them, I don’t want our children to be like us.”

“I didn’t even want you to be like me,” Jack admitted. “When you were shot that first time, I felt my heart break. But then when you came back it broke even further, knowing that somehow you’d been cursed with the same thing I had.”

Ianto shook his head, “It isn’t a curse anymore, Will. You’re not alone. I’m not going anywhere. I’ll always be here. Always.”

“Awww,” Rory’s voice commented from the edge of the carousel.

The couple looked up and glared lightly at their son for interrupting their conversation. “Didn’t your parents ever tell you it’s rude to interrupt?” Jack demanded.

Felix rolled his eyes, “Obviously not,” he answered, earning himself an elbow in the ribs for his effort.

“We just came to tell you that we’re heading home – well to aunt Martha’s,” Rory informed them, making Jack smile. 

Ever since the truth had come to light about who he really was, Rory had taken to calling them ‘dad’, ‘tad’, ‘aunt’ and ‘uncle’; much to Martha’s delight - she still got a little teary eyed when she heard Rory address her as ‘aunt Martha’.

“And aunt Tish has brought Dominic back,” a new voice added from behind them.

Together they all turned to face Tish who was pushing a pram towards them. Dominic was wearing his coat and hat, sleeping soundly as his hand curled around his comfort blanket.

“You know, he really needs to get to sleep at a decent hour,” Jack commented, not moving from where he was stood; Ianto was comfortable.

Tish rolled her eyes. “He was sleeping in bed, but had a nightmare and wouldn’t calm down. I think it was something to do with his tad being hurt,” she voiced her opinion. “I was hoping the fresh air would tire him out again.”

Ianto drew in a gasp of horror and immediately stepped away from Jack, moving over to the pram. He knelt down and ran a hand over Dominic’s head, trying not to wake him. Despite his efforts, Dominic immediately stirred and his blue eyes flickered open.

“Tada?” he asked in confusion, his young voice thick with sleep.

The assassin smiled and pressed a kiss against Dominic’s forehead. “It’s okay,” he whispered, reassuring the toddler he was okay. “I’m here. Go back to sleep and we’ll take you home.”

Dominic smiled sleepily and clutched his blanket closer to his chest, closing his eyes and slipping off to sleep once more.

Felix frowned as Ianto got to his feet and tilted his head to the side, looking at a now sleeping Dominic. “Huh…”

“What?” Jack asked in confusion.

“Nothin’,” Felix muttered, still staring at Dominic. “It’s just… I never noticed it before. But when Dominic’s asleep he looks so much like…”

“Felix Ryman, don’t you dare finish that sentence,” Rory snapped, his voice suddenly full of venom.

Instantly Felix fell silent, lowering his gaze to the floor abashed. But Jack and Ianto’s interests were peaked now – as was Tish’s. “What?” Ianto demanded. “Who does he look like?”

Realisation dawned on Jack and his eyes widened in surprise, staring at both Rory and Felix. “He… You…” he stammered.

“English, Jack,” Ianto prompted.

Jack rolled his eyes, finally tearing his gaze away from the young couple in front of him. “Ianto… I think we’re grandparents in the future.”

TBC


	42. Chapter 42

Chapter 39

The Mahreiser woke up confused and disoriented. She wasn’t in the cell anymore, but she had no idea where she was now. The room was long and had high ceilings; stretching up so high she couldn’t see the top.

She flexed her arms; trying to lift them from her sides, only to find she couldn’t move. They were firmly secured at her sides, attaching her to the chair she was sitting on with metal links. There was no way she could burn through the ropes, then.

“You can’t keep me here like this forever,” she called out, noting how her voice echoed around the room.

Silence answered her and she laughed, “What? You’re too cowardly to talk to me? I will get out of here eventually,” she cackled, rolling her eyes mockingly.

Outside the tunnel, beyond the thick metal doors Jack, Ianto and Rory listened to what she was saying. They could see her on the computer monitors in front of them and her voice echoed through the sound system. Felix, Martha and Mickey had been forced to leave the Hub due to a potential UFO sighting near the Castle.

“If we’re going to do this, we have to do it now, Will,” Ianto said softly, not catching his mistake until Jack glared at him. He had called him Will in front of someone else.

Sensing Jack’s irritation, Rory rolled his eyes, “Like I haven’t heard him call you that before,” he pointed out. “It’s confusing for a kid, you know. Having one parent who’s called ‘Jack’ in public, but ‘Will’ at home. Took me ages to figure out why everyone kept referring to this Jack person.”

Jack laughed and hugged his son tightly. “Sorry,” he apologised, pressing his lips to the younger man’s hair.

Rory groaned and flinched away from the comforting gesture. “Dad!” he whined. “Stop it.”

Ianto rolled his eyes and laughed at the disgust on Rory’s face. “Are you sure you’re not a twelve year old girl?” he chuckled.

Their son scowled at Ianto before turning back to Jack. “Are you going to do this or not?”

Jack took a deep breath, nodding his head as he entered the code into his Vortex Manipulator.

Inside the tunnel, the large barrier separating it and the bay creaked dangerously; its mechanics rusty from under use. The mechanism made a clanking noise then stopped all motion.

“It’s stuck.”

TBC


	43. Chapter 43

Chapter 40

Back in the main Hub, Jack was thumping away at a keyboard, trying to think of something that would work.

“What do you mean stuck?” Rory demanded, putting his hands on his hips and glaring at his father.

Jack raised an eyebrow before turning back to the computer. “Precisely what it sounds like,” he retorted. “Stuck. It’s not working. It hasn’t been used for a long time – if ever. It’s bound to be out of condition.”

“Surely there must be another way to activate it,” Ianto reasoned, running a hand over his hair as he tried to think.

“What do you think I’m trying to do?” Jack snapped, never turning away from the computer.

“Didn’t Torchwood build some kind of manual override, or something?” Rory demanded.

Jack paused and looked up in surprise, he had completely forgotten about that. “There…” He hesitated for a second, “As far as I know they built a manual control in the tunnel.”

“But if we open that it’ll flood the tunnel and drown everyone in there, including us,” Ianto pointed out.

The Captain looked around when he heard a door slam closed. “Ianto… Where’s Rory?”

Immediately, Ianto brought up the CCTV footage for the Hub, which showed Rory sprinting through the corridors as fast as he could.

“Oh, that boy is so being grounded for life when he’s born,” Jack muttered, shaking his head as he made his way over to the door Rory had just left through.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Ianto demanded, jogging after Jack and cutting him off.

“After Rory,” Jack stated. “You do realise what he’s gone to do, don’t you?”

Ianto nodded his head, resting his hands on Jack’s shoulders. “If you go down there and get killed, Rory dies anyway,” he reminded the older Time Agent. “Let me go after him. You need to stay safe.”

~

Rory threw the large doors open, storming into the tunnel. He didn’t close them. He knew one – or both – of his parents would catch up with him soon. But he didn’t care; he just wanted five minutes alone with the bitch that killed Gwen first.

“Why?” he demanded, stalking over to her and leaning down so their faces were level, bracing his hands on either side of the chair she was sat in.

The Mahreiser threw her head back and laughed. “Why do you want the necklace?” Rory shouted, his face red with fury.

“I don’t want the necklace,” the Mahreiser spat.

Rory blinked in surprise, “Then why the fuck were you trying to get it earlier?” She didn’t answer and he slapped her, “Answer me!”

She hissed in pain and turned her head back to face him. “I wanted the necklace to open the Rift so we could get back to our planet.”

“The necklace won’t let you do that,” Rory snarled. “You killed an innocent woman over a necklace that wouldn’t work!”

The Mahreiser’s black eyes met his blue and she smirked, “It’s not the necklace I want now.”

Rory remained silent, studying the alien creature as she continued, “Can’t you feel it? Running through you? I can sense it, you’re absolutely dripping with the stuff.”

“With what?” Rory shouted.

“Rift energy. Surely you must know after all these years. You’re what, just over thirty? Yet there’s never been a day in your life when you’ve wondered what was wrong with you? Why you feel like such a freak? Why…”

“Shut up!” Rory screamed, his fingers curling around her throat, restricting her air supply. “Shut the fuck up!”

“Rory!” Ianto’s voice said urgently from the open doorway. “Strangling her won’t help,” he said carefully, entering the tunnel and slowly making his way towards his son.

“She killed Gwen,” Rory whispered, his voice dark with hatred, never moving his hand – if anything, he tightened his grip. “I promised I’d avenge her.”

Ianto reached out and placed a hand on Rory’s arm. “This isn’t the way to avenge her, you know that.”

“Then I’ll open the spillway,” Rory stated, finally releasing her throat, allowing her to gasp for air.

“That’ll kill you,” Ianto pointed out. “Killing yourself isn’t going to avenge Gwen either,” Ianto shook his head, taking Rory’s hands in his. “What about Felix? And, judging by what he said, your child? If you die here, they lose you forever. You can’t do that to them.”

Rory closed his eyes against the tears, he wanted so badly to avenge Gwen, but knew deep down that Ianto was right. “Tad…” he whispered, looking up at the assassin.

Ianto drew Rory into his arms, hugging him tightly, whispering words of comfort in his ear. 

“Out of the two of us, who can’t die?” 

Rory muttered, “You,” under his breath, feeling stupid for not thinking properly.

“Exactly,” Ianto smiled. “You and your dad need to stay safe. Let me do this for you.”

“But…”

“No buts, Rory,” Ianto stated firmly. He pushed Rory in the direction of the doors at the opposite end of the tunnel.

With one last look back at Ianto, Rory set off at a run towards the doors, moving past the Mahreiser without even blinking at her scornful laughs.

Ianto waited until Rory disappeared behind the doors and they sealed in place behind him. He took a deep breath and turned back to the wall. Rory hadn’t noticed it, but there was a small lever, barely visible if you weren’t looking for it.

“This is for Gwen,” he whispered, pulling the level and freeing the stuck mechanisms in the wall, flooding the tunnel.

TBC


	44. Chapter 44

Chapter 41

The following hours were possibly the longest of Rory’s life. He knew worrying about Ianto was futile. The other man would come back to life, he always had. But seeing his fathers die over and over again never got easier: even if they didn’t stay dead for very long.

Eventually they heard creaking as the slats in the floor opened, slowly draining the water down into the second tunnel where it would flow back out into the bay.

“How long will it take to drain?” Felix asked quietly, grasping hold of Rory’s hand tightly.

“About an hour,” Jack replied just as quietly. He, Rory and Felix had stayed by the doors to the tunnel since Ianto had flooded it.

They had watched in silence as the water had come rushing in, swirling around the pair of them. It hadn’t taken long for the water to fill the tunnel. The cameras had shut down shortly after that, but Jack knew from experience that drowning was pretty quick once your lungs started panicking and searching for oxygen.

Ianto would have died soon after being submerged and hopefully the Mahreiser would have as well. Unfortunately, they had no way to know until the water had been drained away and they could enter without fear of drowning themselves.

“What are the odds that this actually worked?” Rory asked eventually as the remnants of the water leaked away, making it safe for them to open the door.

Jack shrugged his shoulders, entering the security code into his Vortex Manipulator and watching as the doors opened slowly – far too slowly for the Captain’s liking. “Not very high,” he admitted. “But this was the best idea we had.”

The Mahreiser was sitting in the same place she had been before – it wasn’t like the chains around her would let her move. Her head was slumped forward and her body slouched down as much as her restraints would let her.

Felix pressed two fingers against her throat, looking for a pulse. When he didn’t find one he shook his head, “It worked. She’s dead.”

Jack and Rory were too busy searching for Ianto to care about the alien. The assassin’s lifeless body was slumped into the corner where it had been swept by the force of the water.

“Tad,” Rory breathed, spotting Ianto before Jack and running over, the Captain not too far behind.

Jack pressed two fingers against Ianto’s pulse point but - like the Mahreiser - Ianto was dead. “He’s dead,” he stated, dropping his hand and stepping back, dragging Rory with him.

Almost as soon as the words were out of his mouth, Ianto jerked back to life, dragging in a huge breath of air and choking on the water that was still in his throat.

TBC


	45. Chapter 45

Chapter 42

Ianto turned the shower on and stepped under the spray, letting the hot water heat up his stiff muscles. He had drowned once before in short time that had passed since he’d become immortal, and he hated it each time. Jack said it never got better, coming back to life with a lung full of water, and Ianto believed him. After all, the older Time Agent had more experience dying than he did.

The irony of how casually he thought about himself losing another life was not lost on him as he began to scrub himself down.

Behind him the shower stall opened and someone slid inside. Ianto didn’t react; he had sensed Jack in the bathroom, long before the Captain had considered joining Ianto. He had only come down to make sure his lover was doing as he was told.

Jack stepped up behind him and slipped his arms around Ianto’s waist, pulling his wet body back against his own. “You’re still cold,” he commented, pressing his lips against Ianto’s neck.

Ianto laughed, the sound echoing off the bathroom tiles. “Drowning’ll do that to you,” he retorted. His breath hitched when Jack slid his hands up his chest, skimming his fingertips over Ianto’s nipples. “Will…” he breathed, bringing his hand up and burying his fingers in Jack’s wet hair.

“Let me warm you up,” Jack whispered, sliding his hand back down and curling his fingers around Ianto.

The assassin gasped and bucked his hips forward, pressing more of himself into Jack’s hand. He didn’t feel like full-out sex – he knew Jack knew that – but there was no way he couldn’t have reacted to the feel of the other man’s talented hands on his body.

Jack brought his other hand around, cupping Ianto’s balls and rolling them between his fingers as he continued pumping his cock in an even rhythm.

Ianto moaned and tightened his grip on Jack’s hair, turning his head and kissing the Captain passionately as Jack brought him slowly to orgasm. As he came, Ianto panted against Jack’s lips, whimpering his name over and over as though it were some kind of mantra.

As he felt himself coming back down, Ianto began aware of Jack’s own erection pressing against him from behind. Carefully, making sure he didn’t slip on the wet floor, he turned to face Jack.

“Ianto, you don’t…” Jack began to say as he tried to push his lover’s hands away. His attempts were half-hearted though and didn’t stop Ianto dropping to his knees and taking Jack into his mouth in one swift motion.

It didn’t take long for Jack to be reduced to a shaking, moaning mass, and after a few well timed swipes of his tongue across Jack’s head, Ianto felt – and tasted – the other man explode in his mouth.

~

Slowly the couple dried off, exchanging soft kisses and caresses as they towelled each other’s wet skin, before dressing in the clothes they all kept in the Hub in case of emergencies. 

When they were dressed and presentable, they made their way – hand in hand - through the corridors and up to the main Hub. 

Pausing in the doorway, they saw that Martha was in the Medical bay preparing the Mahreiser for cold storage. Keeping the dead alien on ice might prove useful in the future, if they ever needed the creature for medical testing or experiments. 

Mickey was sat at his desk, entering the alien’s vitals into the computer system, while Rory and Felix were sat next to each other on the couch.

Ianto stopped where he was and watched Rory and his partner playing with Dominic. Seeing how easily they coped with the toddler, it was obvious to him that he and Jack were definitely grandparents in the not so distant future.

Jack moved behind Ianto and slipped his arms around him. “What are you thinking?” he asked, kissing the side of Ianto’s face softly.

The assassin smiled and placed his hands over Jack’s, squeezing them gently. “Look at them, Will,” he murmured. He nodded to Rory and Dominic, neither of them having noticed their parents’ arrival. 

“They’re perfect,” Jack agreed, his gaze following Ianto’s and smiling affectionately when Dominic lifted the cushion and hit Felix around the head with it. “Perfect.”

~

“I don’t want to go home,” Rory admitted softly that night. He and Felix were curled up on Martha and Tom’s sofa bed. They had agreed that they would head home the following day now that the Mahreiser was dead.

Felix’s arms tightened around him. “Why?” he whispered, pressing his lips against Rory’s neck.

Rory shifted, pressing back further into Felix’s embrace. “I like being here,” he stated.

“And you don’t like being at home?” Felix asked in surprise.

“It’s not that.” Rory sighed, “Here I don’t have any responsibilities. Back home I’m the second in command and…”

“A parent,” Felix reminded him. “Don’t forget we have to go back for Cali.”

“I haven’t forgotten her,” Rory snapped, his voice harsher than he intended. He closed his eyes and turned in Felix’s arms. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.

Felix shook his head, leaning forward and kissing his partner softly. “Don’t be,” he instructed. “But we have to leave tomorrow. The longer we stay here, the more we risk creating a paradox. You can’t be here when you’re born. It’s too dangerous.”

 

TBC


	46. Chapter 46

Chapter 43

Rory and Felix woke up the next morning, ready to head home. To their surprise, as they left the apartment with Martha, they found Cardiff had been covered by a thick blanket of snow.

“It hasn’t snowed like this for years,” Martha commented, running her gloved hand down the wall as they headed to the car.

Rory nodded and slipped into the passenger seat, Felix getting in the back. “It doesn’t snow much back home either. For all this fuss people make about global warming, the weather doesn’t seem to be that much different.”

Martha dropped them off at the Millennium Centre as she went to park the car. Felix laughed when he spotted a familiar figure rolling around on the ground. “I can’t believe that coat survives for so long,” he commented, linking his hand with Rory’s as they made their way over to Jack and Ianto who were playing with Dominic.

“I think he has a secret stash of them,” Rory murmured, grinning as Dominic spotted them and came running over, his face flushed with the cold. “Hey!” he greeted.

Dominic smirked in a way that was so similar to Ianto it was quite terrifying. He pulled his hand back and threw a handful of snow up at Rory, hitting him square in the face.

Rory’s mouth fell open in surprise as he looked down at his brother. “That’s it… You asked for it…”

Dominic shrieked with laughter and ran back over to Jack and Ianto who were kissing in the snow. He wormed his way between them and tried to hide as Rory threw little snowballs at him.

“Daddy! Tell him to stop it!”

Jack laughed and rolled away, tackling Rory and wrestling him to the ground, trying his hardest to stuff snow down the front of his son’s jacket.

Rory shrieked with laughter as he tried to get away, but Jack was heavier than he was and wouldn’t shift until Rory had a hefty lump of snow down his front.

“Bastard!” he growled good-naturedly, pushing himself to his feet and rolling a large snowball in his gloved hands.

Jack cried out and ran away from Rory, trying to hide behind Ianto in an attempt to get away.

Ianto rolled his eyes and stepped to the side, trying to avoid the snowball Rory had just thrown at Jack. He didn’t quite get the timing right, however, and the ball hit him in the centre of his chest, breaking into little pieces and falling to the floor.

After another half hour or so of snowball fights, Dominic announced that he wanted to build a snowman.

With all their help it didn’t take long for the snowman to be as big as Felix – who was the shortest out of all of them, at 5’9”.

“Perfect,” Rory announced, holding Dominic up so he could put the finishing touches on the snowman – a carrot Mickey had provided for his nose.

“Not quite,” Jack argued, shrugging of his coat and sliding it around the snowman’s ‘shoulders’, not caring that it would get wet – it was already soaked through.

“Now it’s perfect.”

TBC


	47. Chapter 47

Chapter 44

Martha hugged Felix before squeezing Rory tightly. “I can’t believe you’re going,” she whispered, tears falling down her cheeks. “It’s going to be strange without you here.”

Rory hugged her back, “Don’t cry,” he cooed, smoothing down her hair – she was a good foot shorter than him. “I won’t be gone long. I’ll be back in a few months.” He nodded over at Jack and grinned. 

The Captain was sitting at Ianto’s desk, a steaming cup of hot chocolate in his hands and wrapped in a thermal blanket. Martha had gone ballistic when she had found out Jack was rolling around in the freezing cold snow while he was pregnant. Rory had pointed out that it clearly hadn’t made a difference to him, but the doctor was having nothing of it. Jack was to stay wrapped up for as long as possible.

“It’ll still be strange,” Martha pouted, kissing his cheek and hugging him tightly before pulling back. 

Mickey hugged him a little before releasing him. He clapped Felix on the back. “Watch yourself,” he advised.

Tish hugged them both together, her eyes brimming with tears as she planted kisses on their cheeks before stepping back.

Dominic frowned at the adults around him. They were all sad and hugging Rory for some reason. Not wanting to feel left out, he ran forward, not stopping until he was standing in front of Rory.

The young man looked down and grinned when he saw his brother standing before him, holding his arms out, silently demanding to be held.

Obligingly Rory picked him up, resting him on his hip. “We have to go now,” he told Dominic, who pouted and looked at him with big blue eyes. 

“Wanna come!”

Rory smiled and pressed a kiss against Dominic’s forehead. “I know you do, but you can’t. Only me and Fe can go.”

Tears formed in Dominic’s eyes and Felix sighed, running his hand over the young boy’s dark hair. “You have to stay here, Nicky,” the Time Lord said. “Daddy’s going to have a baby brother for you soon.”

Dominic’s eyes lit up happily and he looked at Rory, silently asking him if Felix was telling the truth. Rory nodded his head and Dominic hugged him tightly before squirming out of his arms and running over to Jack to say hello to the baby.

Ianto laughed and sidestepped his partner and son, moving over to his other child and his partner. He hugged Felix tightly, “You’re a good man, Felix Ryman,” he informed him. “Take care of my son and grandchild.”

Felix nodded, firmly promising that he would before releasing his father-in-law.

“You’re a wonderful person, Rory,” Ianto told him, stepping closer to the young man. “Don’t ever think you’re not,” he hugged him tightly.

Rory smiled through tears and squeezed Ianto. “I love you, tad,” he whispered in Welsh, making the Time Agent grin – Welsh had always been one of Ianto’s favourite languages.

“Enough hugging,” Jack called, crossing the Hub. “Especially when I’m not part of the hug!”

Rory laughed and pulled Jack closer, hugging him as tight – if not tighter – as he had Ianto. “I love you, dad,” he whispered in a language only Jack and Ianto understood.

Jack pulled back, staring at Rory in surprise. “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised you know how to speak that, should I?”

Rory shook his head, chuckling to himself and hugging Jack again. “What did you expect with you two speaking it at home?”

“Do you think you could speak English?” Mickey demanded, frowning in confusion.

Together they laughed and switched back to English. “Sorry, Mickey Mouse!”

“Shut it, Captain Cheesecake.”

“Beefcake, Mickey… Beefcake.”

TBC


	48. Chapter 48

Chapter 45

When Rory and Felix materialised in the Hub, back in the year 2041, the first person that noticed them was their four-year-old daughter, whom Felix had left in the care of her grandparents.

“Papa?” she asked, her forehead crumpling in surprise.

“Hey, sweetie,” Rory greeted, crouching down and holding his arms out to her in invitation.

She hesitated for a second before jumping down from Rory’s desk and running towards him, throwing her arms around him and hugging tightly. Her gaze fell on Felix and her eyes narrowed in suspicion. 

“Where’s daddy?” she whispered, tightening her arms around Rory’s neck fearfully at the sight of the stranger.

“That is daddy,” he assured her, placing her on the ground and turning her to face Felix.

Felix grinned and knelt down in front of her. “Hey,” he grinned, holding his hand out to her.

Nervously, she looked up at Rory, waiting until he gave her the nod of approval before she slid her hand into Felix’s larger one. The Time Lord tugged her closer gently, before whispering something in her ear. Rory didn’t know what it was, but he knew it was something they had instilled in her from a young age.

They had always known that Felix would possibly need to regenerate at least once in their daughter’s lifetime, so the Time Lord had devised a plan. They had a secret code word – Rory was positive it wasn’t even a real word – that only the two of them knew. That made them even closer, and gave Felix something to use to prove his identity.

He whispered this made up word in their daughter’s ear and immediately her face lit up and she hugged him tightly. 

“You look different,” she advised him as though he hadn’t realised.

“Do I?” Felix frowned looking down at himself. “Am I still prettier than your papa?” he pouted.

She nodded her head and Rory cried, “Hey!” making the pair of them giggle.

“Cali, what’s going…?” the new voice trailed off as a tall man exited the office and stopped in surprise.

“They’re back!” Cali cried happily, not letting go of Felix. “And daddy looks different, but he’s still daddy!”

“Where the hell did you go?” he demanded of Felix, not bothered by how different the younger man looked – he could sense that it was really Felix.

“Hello, I’m back too,” Rory spoke sarcastically. “I’m fine, thanks for asking.”

Dominic blinked, seeming to only just recognise his younger brother before he grinned and hugged him tightly. “Where were you?”

A familiar voice stopped Rory from answering as the cog door rolled back, revealing a bemused Jack and Ianto. “You made it back safely then,” Jack commented, walking into the Hub with his hands in his pockets.

Instantly Rory knew his parents remembered his coming from the future and he immediately felt angry with them for not warning him what would happen once he was there.

“I can’t believe you knew where I was going to go all this time!” Rory spat, stalking across the room to his parents.

Jack didn’t look fazed by his son’s anger. “If we’d told you, you would have tried to change something.” Rory still glared at him and Jack sighed, “I know you, Rory. There’s no way you would have let Gwen die if you’d known how she passed away in the first place.”

TBC


	49. Chapter 49

Chapter 46

It was almost ten o’clock by the time Rory and Felix finally left the Hub after returning home. Dominic had demanded to know what had happened, where Rory had ended up and how Felix had got them both back.

Once she was sure that the new Felix was still her daddy, Cali had turned to Rory, tightly wrapping her arms around her papa’s neck – and she hadn’t let go.

Throughout the whole night, she had clung to her father like a limpet, refusing to let him go under any circumstances. She had made things difficult when Rory announced he needed to use the bathroom.

Jack and Ianto had been forced to bribe their granddaughter into releasing her father, in the only way that grandparents knew how – with treats.

“You put her to bed,” Felix whispered as he unlocked the house and flicked the lights on. “I’ll lock up.”

Rory nodded his head, kicking his shoes off and kissing Felix’s cheek before quietly making his way up the stairs.

The house was pretty small – just a three bed-roomed semi-detached, but it was the best house Rory had ever seen. It was close enough to the bay that Rory wasn’t in constant pain from the pressure inside his head. 

Felix hadn’t understood why they couldn’t live somewhere else when they had bought the house. But, like he had told Rory, he loved him and didn’t care where they lived.

Cali groaned sleepily when Rory gently shook her awake. “Papa!” she whined, trying to bury her head in Rory’s shoulder and go back to sleep.

Rory chuckled and placed her on the bed before moving over to the dresser and pulling out her pink pyjamas. “Come on, sweetie,” Rory whispered, nudging her again as she threatened to fall back to sleep. “Let’s get you changed, then you can go back to sleep.”

Grudgingly Cali eventually let Rory get her ready for bed and brush her long hair so it wouldn’t hurt as much in the morning. “Right, come on,” he instructed, pulling the covers back and urging her underneath them.

As Cali settled against the pillows, Rory knelt next to the bed, brushing her hair away from her face. She was so beautiful - his beautiful little angel. 

Sleepily she opened her eyes and reached her hand out, running her fingertips down her papa’s cheek. She could feel his stubble underneath her fingers. “Goin’ away now?” she whispered.

Rory felt his heart break at her words and he had to fight to suppress tears. He couldn’t believe what he had almost given up by wanting to remain in the past. 

“I’m not going anywhere, sweetie,” he assured her, pressing his lips against her forehead. “Sweet dreams, Cali,” he murmured, getting to his feet and flicking the light off; the only light coming from her small night light.

He turned to see Felix standing in the open doorway watching him with an affectionate smile on his handsome face. 

Wordlessly Felix held his hand out to his lover, who smiled back at him and slid his hand into Felix’s.

At the foot of their bed, Rory stopped and pulled Felix closer; so close he could feel the Time Lord’s breath on his lips. “Make love to me, Fe,” Rory whispered, bringing his hand up and brushing Felix’s dark hair away from his forehead.

Felix groaned slightly and stepped even closer, further closing the gap between them. “My pleasure,” he murmured in Rory’s ear, running his tongue over the outer shell. “Let me welcome you home properly.”

TBC


	50. Chapter 50

Chapter 47

Rory grinned at the waitress as she deposited his plate on the table in front of him. “Thank you,” he murmured, spreading his napkin across his lap and reaching for his fork.

Carefully he swirled spaghetti around his fork – making sure he didn’t splash himself with the sauce - and lifted it to his mouth, suddenly aware that everyone was watching him. “What?” he asked self-consciously.

The other’s chuckled, mumbling, “Nothing,” under their breaths as they continued with their own food.

“What I don’t get,” Rory spoke a short while later, “is why the Mahreiser said she wasn’t after the necklace anymore.”

Jack and Ianto exchanged concerned glances and Rory scowled, looking at his brother and partner, who were looking at him with similar looks of confusion. “What do you know?” Rory demanded.

Ianto sighed and wiped the corners of his mouth with his own napkin before lowering it to the table slowly. “After you and Felix left 2008, we watched the CCTV footage from the tunnel. We heard what she said to you.”

“Oh,” Rory whispered.

“What?” Dominic demanded. He felt even more lost than he had before Rory had explained where he had gone.

Jack ignored Dominic’s questions for the moment, focusing his attention on their youngest son. “Why have you never told us you can feel the Rift?”

Dominic’s eyes widened and he leant back in his seat, eagerly waiting for Rory’s excuse. He couldn’t believe Rory had managed to keep something that big hidden – well, as far as he knew – for the past thirty years.

“Because,” Rory closed his eyes, “it’s not normal.”

Ianto chuckled and reached over, placing his arm on Rory’s arm. “Rory, nothing to do with Torchwood is normal.”

Suddenly Rory’s eyes flew open and he glared accusingly at Jack and Ianto. “Hang on! You met me in the past, that means you’ve known about this my whole life…”

Jack returned Rory’s glare with one of his own. “We figured it wasn’t our place to approach you about it.”

“When you were born, the Rift opened,” Ianto explained. “I’m not talking about a crack. I’m talking about it opening fully. It took all of us – and the Doctor,” he glanced cautiously at Felix, knowing how the younger Time Lord felt about his grandfather. Not to his surprise, there wasn’t even a glimmer of a reaction from Felix. “To close it. Some of the surplus energy seeped into you.”

“We weren’t sure how it would affect you,” Jack picked up the explanation, “but after a while it became increasingly obvious how painful it was for you to be too far away from the Rift.”

“That’s why we moved into the Hub for a while,” Ianto pointed out. “It was too painful for you to leave.”

“I remember,” Rory nodded, casting his mind back to when he was a young child. “It felt like my head was being torn in two.”

The waitress came to take their empty plates away and give them the dessert menu. After ordering what they wanted, Jack continued with his explanation, “The older you got, the less painful it was for you to be away from the Hub.”

“That’s why you made me go to school so close to the Bay,” Rory mused aloud, the strange things from his childhood finally slotting into place.

Ianto nodded, “And why we wouldn’t let you go to France with school. There was no way you would have been able to cope with that distance.”

“How did you get the necklace back?” Rory asked, looking over at Felix.

“I stole it out of the archives,” Jack stated matter-of-factly, answering for the young Time Lord.

“You what?” Dominic practically shouted, making Rory roll his eyes.

“You should have known they wouldn’t leave Torchwood alone just ‘cause they’re retired.”

“I told Felix to give it to you. That necklace was never anything more than that: a necklace,” Jack explained. “All it did was help you focus the Rift energy to protect yourself. You’ve always been able to tap into the Rift, you just needed something to concentrate on.”

“And you never told me,” Rory whispered, looking down at his chocolate gateaux.

Ianto squeezed Rory’s hand, “Your dad’s right. It wasn’t our place to tell you that we knew. Or that Felix was who you were meant to be with after bad relationship.”

“No wonder you didn’t react when I told you I was gay,” Rory muttered under his breath, stabbing at his dessert with his spoon. “You already knew. You could have at least faked a reaction,” he added, making everyone laugh.

“You’re not abnormal,” Dominic assured his younger brother. “Well, you are, but that’s a completely different story,” he corrected himself.

Rory glared at him and mouthed, ‘Fuck off’, earning him a smack on the arm from Ianto. 

“You being so connected to the Rift was why I didn’t want Cali being born anywhere near here,” Jack added, chuckling lightly at his sons’ behaviour. “We had no way of knowing if Cali would be as connected to it as you. I wanted you as far away from Cardiff and the Rift as possible when she was born.”

“And Newport was as far as you could get?” Felix laughed, raising an eyebrow.

Rory scowled at his partner. “Have you ever tried giving birth with a splitting headache? No? You don’t get an opinion.”

TBC


	51. Chapter 51

Chapter 48

Cali frowned in annoyance at being dragged away from their warm house at ten o’clock in the morning.

“Daddy!” she whined, trying to wriggle out of Felix’s arms. “What are we doing?”

Felix sighed and held onto her tightly. “Stop complaining,” he instructed, not letting her go. “Papa needs to see someone, and then we can go see grandpa and granddad.”

She huffed in annoyance and folded her arms. Seeing that Felix wasn’t going to relent, she leant back against his chest. “Whose papa come to see? There’s only stones.”

“Someone special,” Felix whispered, his eyes searching out his partner in the large cemetery. “Someone very special.”

Rory reverently laid the flowers he was holding on the gravestone in front of him. His parents had brought him to the site a few times in the past, but he had never felt a connection to the woman they always talked about.

Back then, Gwen Cooper had been a myth; nothing more than a story people told at parties when they had consumed a little too much alcohol and began to reminisce.

Going back to the past - before he had even been born - had changed his perception of the image his parents painted. In Jack and Ianto’s stories, Gwen had always come across as rather irritating; never letting anything drop and always persisting even though her opinion wasn’t particularly welcomed.

Seeing her - meeting her face to face - had made Rory realise that those qualities weren’t necessarily a bad thing. Her persistence and loyal spirit had made such an impact on Torchwood and the team. Especially Jack. Far more than the Captain seemed to realise.

“Thank you,” Rory whispered to the stone that bore Gwen’s name. “For saving my life. If you hadn’t…” He shook his head, “You gave me the chance to find my way home. Back to my family.”

He glanced over his shoulder at Felix and Cali who were waiting by the gates to the cemetery. 

“I wanted to kill the Mahreiser for what it did to you,” Rory continued. “I was going to as well, even if it meant killing myself. Tad wouldn’t let me, though. He sacrificed himself instead.”

Rory laughed and rolled his eyes, “Makes sense that he did it in retrospect. I can die. He can’t after all.”

He sighed and smoothed down his jacket. “Well, that’s all I wanted to say really. Thank you for saving my life. I won’t forget you, I promise. And I know tad and dad won’t either.”

As he turned away from the stone, he could have sworn he saw something out of the corner of his eye, but when he looked there was nothing there.

On his way back to Felix, he heard a soft whisper, sounding barely more than a breath of wind. But there was definitely words spoken, “You’re welcome.”

The End


End file.
